Ramona Arreguín de Rosales met revered Latino civil rights leader César Chávez as a college student.
“The movement inspired us to activism, and to organize and to fight for justice,” Arreguín de Rosales said. “I have worked for over 50 years for social justice and human rights for my community.”
She later co-founded Academia César Chávez Charter School in St. Paul, and helped in the effort to name a street in St. Paul after him. But on Monday, Arreguín de Rosales was supporting a bill before the Minnesota Legislature that would repeal César Chávez Day (March 31; his birthday), after several women came forward accusing him of sexual abuse decades ago.
According to an investigation the New York Times published late last week, Chávez allegedly sexually abused multiple women and girls who were part of the organized labor movement more than 50 years ago, including prominent activist and United Farm Workers co-founder Dolores Huerta.
DFL Rep. María Isa Pérez-Vega, the bill’s author, called the proposed repeal “urgent” during a news conference before a floor session Monday of the Minnesota House of Representatives. She emphasized the need to believe victims of sexual assault and to afford them credibility by acting on their allegations.
“We hear the call of Dolores Huerta, a 96-year-old woman who exemplifies courage and deserves restorative justice with all of our communities after her 60 years of silently living with this trauma,” Pérez-Vega told reporters. “There’s more work to be done but this is a start.”
The Minnesota House unanimously passed the bill in a 129-0 vote.
Chávez, who died in 1993, was a co-founder of the United Farm Workers union and a key leader in the Latino civil rights movement. He organized farmworker strikes in the 1960s that started in California and spread across the country. He became a symbol for organized labor and civil rights, prompting streets nationwide to be named after him. His birthday is a federal holiday while also being separately recognized as a holiday in many states.
The allegations against Chávez prompted local and state governments as well as Latino community groups nationwide to call off celebrations planned for this year’s César Chávez Day, and to move to rename streets and buildings named after him.
St. Paul Mayor Kaohly Her said at Monday’s news conference that city officials are working with local Latino groups about how to move forward with renaming César Chávez Street in the city’s historic Mexican American West Side neighborhood.
“This isn’t the city’s decision — this is the residents’ decision,” Her told reporters. “It’s not just about removing that name now, but also what does the community feel is the best way to honor that, and that’s the opportunity to hold space for what the community has achieved and what to call it next.”
Lawmakers and activists said at the capitol Monday that the Latino American struggle for civil rights and organized labor over the past several decades transcends one individual, and that Chávez’s alleged actions should not blemish the movement’s achievements and other people who kept it alive.
“I do not want us to diminish the good work that the movement has accomplished over the last 50 years led by many individuals who have worked hard and have made many contributions and accomplishments for our community, both locally and nationally,“ Arreguín de Rosales said. “The movement, ‘la causa,’ is much bigger than one person.”
Due to the urgency with which lawmakers passed the legislation in the House, the bill will likely come up for a vote on the Senate floor within the week.
