Bennito L. Kelty
Audio By Carbonatix
The City of Denver will begin renaming and removing property and an official holiday honoring Cesar Chavez, Mayor Mike Johnston announced on Thursday, March 19, after a New York Times investigation revealed allegations of rape and pedophilia against the iconic Chicano and labor rights leader.
“As Coloradans grapple with today’s revelations and we move to rename landmarks, we must ensure the survivors receive the dignity and justice they are owed,” Johnston said.
Chavez is best known for his activism in support of unions for California farm workers in the 1960s and 70s. He was a key figure in the Chicano movement that emerged at the time, which preached Latino empowerment and civil rights. He co-founded the United Farm Workers, a national union, alongside Dolores Huerta, a legendary activist in her own right known for coining the famous rallying cry “Si Se Puede,” or “Yes We Can.” Huerta also accused Chavez of raping her in 1966, which the 96-year-old had not publicly shared until the NYT investigation published on Wednesday, March 18.
The March 31 Cesar Chavez holiday that the city has celebrated annually since 2001 will be renamed this year to Si Se Puede Day to honor the Chicano movement, Johnston said. The Denver City Council passed legislation in 2001 to make March 31 a holiday and paid day off for city employees, as a replacement for Christopher Columbus Day. Because the council passed it, the council needs to go through a legislative process to undo it and cannot scrap it immediately, however.
“I’m confident that with the leadership we have today, that we will find a way to be stronger,” said Ramona Martinez, the former city councilmember who led the creation of the city’s Cesar Chavez holiday, at the press conference. “This will give us the opportunity to listen and learn and be together so we can share our history with our grandchildren, our children and future generations.”
The city announced on March 18 that it would rename Cesar Chavez Park, located at 4131 Tennyson Street in northwest Denver, which was formerly a largely Chicano area. Johnston said on Thursday that the city would have a bust and plaque honoring Chavez at the park removed by the end of the day.
“What we’re committed to is making sure that the movement that was led by tens of thousands of men and women, whose names we may never know, is not lost and their heroic accomplishments are not tarnished by the actions of one person,” Johnston said. “We see those survivors and celebrate them, and also continue to fiercely celebrate all the men and women who led this movement and lead it today.”
Denver City Council President Amanda Sandoval, whose district is where the park is located, said at the press conference that the park sign displaying his name at the park has already been removed, which was “a very difficult” decision to make, she said. The allegations against Chavez were “shocking, heartbreaking, and, for many of us, it has shaken something deep,” Sandoval said.
“For many of us, this is not just news. This touches our history, our identity and the stories we were raised on,” Sandoval said. “Across our community, people are grieving, questioning, trying to make sense of something that feels so evil. I was so proud to have such a park in my council district. That was not an easy decision, and I don’t want anyone to think we made it lightly. But it was a necessary one.”
According to Sandoval, the city covered his bust on Thursday morning because “we didn’t want to see vandalism in my park.” She asked residents upset with the revelations, “Please don’t judge right now. We need to lead with grace, and so, please, don’t go around and vandalize. This is not a reason to vandalize our city.”
Johnston said the city will rely on a “community process” to gather ideas about how to rename the park and the holiday. The “Si Se Puede” holiday will be in place for this year, but the mayor said community’s input will decide whether the holiday is renamed or abandoned.
The Cesar E. Chavez Memorial Building notably bears the disgraced activist’s name at 1244 Speer Boulevard. It’s a federal building where Senator Michael Bennet, the Department of Education and OSHA have offices, as well as other agencies. Johnston said that the city has “not yet” reached out to the federal government regarding a possible name change there. On Thursday, Senator Bennet released a statement condemning Chavez.
“Today’s reporting of abuse and sexual assault against women and girls by Cesar Chavez are horrific,” Bennet wrote. “We cannot afford to abandon the movement’s fight to protect farm workers and immigrants, especially in the face of the Trump Administration’s cruel and inhumane policies.”
Tony Garcia, who runs the Chicano theater Su Teatro at 1265 Mariposa Street, hosted the mayor, Sandoval and other local Latino community leaders, including poets and people who knew Chavez. He told Westword after the press conference that Denver’s Chicano leaders and activists “are all in shock, and the biggest priority needs to be the victims who were hurt.”
“We have to face and condemn those actions,” Garcia said. “But I want to echo that one man is not the movement. Although we all learn tremendous things from Cesar and Dolores and other leaders, the bottom line is if we’re fighting for the safety and security of our community, we can’t then go and attack that community.”
