'Cesar Chavez Day' Is Going Away in California

Two of California's top lawmakers said Thursday they plan to rename César Chavez Day following stunning abuse allegations against the revered labor leader. The move is significant: In 2000, California became the first state to designate Chavez's birthday as a day to honor the civil rights leader. State employees were granted a day off, and schools were required to teach students about his legacy and his involvement in the labor movement in California. Now, however, the leaders of the California Legislature said they would pass a bill renaming the holiday Farmworkers Day before the end of the month, per the AP.

The legislation would need the approval of Gov. Gavin Newsom, who said Wednesday he was open to changing the name of the holiday. Political leaders in other states are considering similar moves over the allegations, which accuse Chavez of sexually abusing underage girls and women—including the co-founder of the United Farm Workers union, Dolores Huerta. (She has since spoken out about what she endured.) Latino leaders and community groups quickly condemned the alleged abuse but emphasized that the farmworker movement was never about one person. Chavez died in California in 1993 at age 66.