The Illinois Senate passed resolutions this week to replace Cesar Chavez Day with Farmworkers Day on March 31 and declare Dolores Huerta Day on April 10 throughout the state.
The measures still need to pass the Illinois House.
Huerta, who co-founded the United Farm Workers with Chavez, is one of the many women and girls that Chavez allegedly sexually assaulted while leading the farmworkers movement in the United States, according to a New York Times investigation published March 18. She was born April 10, 1930, and is now 95 years old.
The bombshell sexual abuse allegations sent ripples through the nation.
In Chicago’s Barrett Park, a mural of Cesar Chavez was painted over just two days after the allegations came out, according to the Chicago Park District. And in the Back of the Yards neighborhood, the Cesar E. Chavez Multicultural Academic Center local school council formally voted on Wednesday to start a process to change its name, Chicago Public Schools said.
Many community members were left reeling after the allegations. A Cafe Tola location in Lakeview painted over a Chavez mural with one of Dolores Huerta in a colorful Indigenous headdress with her famed slogan: “Si, se puede,” which translates to “Yes, we can.”
The resolution introduced into the Illinois General Assembly on Tuesday recognizes Huerta’s “lifelong commitment to justice and her enduring impact on generations of activists and working families.”
It also acknowledges her “resilience in sharing her story and her commitment to uplifting the experiences of women whose narratives have too often been overlooked” in addition to her contributions to civil rights, labor rights, gender equity and social justice.
Huerta said she kept quiet about Chavez allegedly raping her in 1966 and pressuring her into sex in 1960 so as not to hurt the farmworker movement. She said both encounters led to pregnancies, which she kept secret, according to The New York Times.
“Unfortunately, he used some of his great leadership to abuse women and children — it’s really awful,” Huerta told The New York Times.
Following the allegations, Texas Gov. Greg Abbott said the state will not observe the Cesar Chavez Day holiday and that he will urge the state legislature to remove it altogether, The Associated Press reported.
On Thursday, California Gov. Gavin Newsom signed a bill to change Cesar Chavez Day to Farmworkers Day, which was approved by the state Senate, according to the AP.
In Illinois, Cesar Chavez Day was introduced in 2022.
State Sen. Celina Villanueva, D-Chicago, led the resolution to designate March 31 as Farmworkers Day and make April 10 Dolores Huerta Day, according to a Thursday news release.
“Farmworkers have long carried this country on their backs while too often being denied the protections and recognition they deserve,” Villanueva said in a statement.
The state senator also elevated Huerta’s role in U.S. history as a civil rights leader.
“Dolores Huerta showed us what it means to turn organizing into lasting change,” Villanueva said.
