Write a new simple attractive title based on the title from Cesar Chavez name, image in Valley to be removed in wake of sex abuse reports and dont use quote marks

By FRANCISCO E. JIMENEZ and OMAR ZAPATA | Staff Writers

For many years, visitors to La Union Del Pueblo Entero’s San Juan offices have walked in the shadow of a large mural celebrating the history and accomplishments of the United Farm Workers and motivating future generations to continue the movement.

The mural was commissioned by David Arizmendiz, the former executive director of Proyecto Azteca, whose offices are on the same property. On a wall parallel to Business 83, the mural stands facing the office buildings with LUPE’s logo on the top — a large black Aztec eagle with its wings outstretched over a green field.

Black silhouettes on either side of the eagle carry signs and flags, those on the right representing local United Farm Workers Texas members and those on the left representing LUPE. Above one wing, a portrait of Cesar Chavez stares into the distance with “Sí se puede!” — the rallying cry of the UFW movement emblazoned in red.

Over the other wing is a quote by Chavez. “No podemos retroceder, venceremos… Estamos venciendo, porque la nuestra es una revolucion de la mente y el corazon,” or “We cannot go back, we will overcome … We are overcoming, because ours is a revolution of the mind and the heart.”

The mural is now mostly hidden behind a large blue tarp as LUPE and other organizations consider ways to distance themselves from Chavez in the wake of multiple cases of sexual abuse made against the former civil rights leader.

“When we learned the news about Cesar last week, we knew that there was going to be a range of reactions from the community and from our membership,” Dani Marrero Hi, deputy director of LUPE, said. “We knew that people were going to be working through very complicated emotions.”

LUPE, which was founded by Chavez and Dolores Huerta, began removing Chavez’s image from its website before a New York Times report was published last Wednesday detailing multiple cases of inappropriate behavior and rape involving young girls, as well as Huerta.

Marrero Hi said that LUPE has had to respond delicately in consideration of the many survivors of sexual abuse as well as those who have been with the movement for decades, many of whom knew Chavez personally.

“They knew Cesar, and they know Dolores, so we knew that they were going to have a lot of complicated feelings to work through how shocking this news is,” Marrero Hi said. “We also know that there’s many people in our community, our staff, our membership, who are survivors and who, when they learned the news, seeing certain imagery would be very difficult for them.”

In response to the reports of sexual abuse, LUPE has hosted several events with social workers and therapists to help their members and staff be able to process the news and help them heal. LUPE has also had to find a way to move out of Chavez’s shadow, a man whose face has become synonymous with the labor and civil rights movements, and continue focusing on serving the community.

“We approach it with a lot of humility, with a lot of care, and very much rooted in that the way for us to move forward from this is not through some rapid, rash decision,” Marrero Hi said. “Whatever changes we make to the murals, we want it to represent not just a response to the news, but that as an organization, as a membership that has been here for so many decades, that we’ve also taken the time to think of, ‘How do we define ourselves? How do we define the way that we engage with certain parts of our history?’”

“Most of this history, if not all of it, was made by not just one person, but by the millions of people that have participated in this movement through the decades.”

Immediately after the report was published, organizations throughout the country began erasing any association to Chavez’s name and image.

A collaborative event between the Food Bank of the Rio Grande Valley and the University of Texas Rio Grande Valley’s Center for Student Involvement scheduled for Friday underwent a name-change in light of the report. The event was originally called the Cesar Chavez Day of Service. Now it is being called the Spring Day of Service.

The RGV Food Bank declined comment on the matter.

Now school districts and municipalities are looking at ways of separating themselves from Chavez.

CAUGHT OFF GUARD

In San Juan, local leaders are considering renaming Cesar Chavez Road. The road, which was originally named Morningside Road, appears to set for a name-change as a result of the recent outcries of sexual abuse against the former labor leader.

“So right now, in reference to what’s happening with Cesar Chavez and all that, we decided that we will look into this matter very closely and get with the legal and check the process as well to see whether we are more likely going to rename the name,” San Juan Mayor Mario Garza said.

Garza said that he was shocked when he learned about the sexual abuse.

“It’s just something that kind of caught everyone off guard,” he said. “Just knowing that there’s this individual who was part of one of the biggest movements in history, you know, having these accusations against them that was pretty shocking.”

Garza said that he anticipates the issue being up for discussion at the next city commissioners meeting in about two weeks. He said that he is open to hearing from community members regarding any suggestions for a new name for the road.

He added that he would like an opportunity to meet with members of LUPE before any decision is made by the city.

“They’re located in San Juan, and I know they’re very active and in the communities,” Garza said. “So I’d like to sit down with maybe one or several representatives and just kind of get their feedback on it.”

“I kind of just want to hear from the community and as well as the organization, and see what their thoughts are in reference to renaming the street,” he continued. “In my opinion, I don’t think we’ll get any negative feedback on it, but I may be wrong. I know other states and other cities are already removing statues. I think it’s just something that we’re really gonna look into, but obviously there’s a legal process to all this.”

LUPE’s San Juan office sits on the corner of Cesar Chavez Road and Business 83. Garza said that while he does not have a replacement name in mind for the road, he would like to see the street named in honor of the labor movement.

“In my opinion, I think I want to name it in honor of the movement, the union, the migrant farm workers,” Garza said. “I’d like a catchy name to honor the movement, not necessarily an individual, but the movement of what happened back in the past.”

RENAMING SCHOOLS

Two Hidalgo County school districts with schools named after Chavez are distancing themselves from the former labor leader by renaming the said schools.

Pharr-San Juan-Alamo ISD’s César Chávez Elementary and La Joya ISD’s Cesar Chavez Middle School each released statements addressing the reported sexual abuse soon after the story was published last week.

The press release from PSJA ISD stated that district leadership had already begun reviewing the matter.

“Our District leadership is still reviewing the matter and will continue evaluating next steps, with additional updates to follow,” a district representative said when asked if PSJA ISD will consider renaming the school.

A statement from La Joya ISD shared on March 19 stated that the district was aware of questions and concerns regarding the naming of Cesar Chavez Middle School.

“We understand the significance that school names carry for our students, staff, families, and the broader community,” the statement read. “They reflect our shared values, history, and the individuals we choose to honor as these individuals reflect our shared values and ideals as a community.”

They said that they would begin an “open and transparent process to engage stakeholders, provide updates, and outline next steps,” and that any future actions would be determined by community input.

“La Joya ISD remains committed to maintaining a respectful, inclusive environment, where our community is included in our decisions and students feel safe and welcomed in all of our campuses,” the statement read. “Communicating with our families and staff in a timely and transparent manner is a continued priority and we will share more as more information becomes available. Thank you for your patience and understanding as we move through this process as a community.”

A MOVEMENT, NOT A MAN

UTRGV Mexican-American Studies Professor Stephanie Alvarez said she was in disbelief when hearing the reports about Chavez since many people looked to him as a civil rights hero.

Alvarez said she liked seeing the Latino community come together to say this is not acceptable and immediately remove his name from any public place or space.

“I think that (school) boards should be passing a resolution immediately about these name changes,” she said. “I don’t think we should honor somebody like Chavez.”

Alvarez added that name changes should focus on the farmworker or civil rights movements rather than an individual.

The Texas Education Agency on Monday sent out an order for all public schools to remove any mention of Cesar Chavez and cancel or redirect events and activities planned for Cesar Chavez day on March 31.

Alvarez said she worries about the absence of Mexican American and ethnic studies in public school education.

“I don’t think he should be in the curriculum, but the importance of the history, is not the person but what was accomplished by the United Farm Workers Union in making much needed change in society,” Alvarez said. “In how farmworkers were paid, how they were treated, bathrooms in the field, clean water. Even pay in some places. That needs to be told, because farmworkers are the backbone of our society. We don’t eat without farmworkers, and they’re already under-acknowledged.”

“The history of the Valley is a history of farmworkers. People say that John Closner, John McAllen, John Shary built the Valley,” she continued. “They didn’t build the Valley, farmworkers built the Valley. … They also are the ones that made social change possible for better lives for Chicanos and Latinos in the Valley. So I think it’s really particularly important here, because almost every family has a connection to farmworkers at some point in their lineage.”

PSJA Memorial Early College High School teacher Monica Alvarez Suárez taught Mexican-American Studies classes for several years and was involved in making the curriculum.

Suárez said she believes Chavez can be removed from the curriculum without it negatively impacting classes.

“It wasn’t just about Cesar Chavez,” she said. “They were about farmworkers, boycotts and marches. It was a coalition by farmworker activists, students, educators. … So, I think it’s so important to still teach that part of history and it can be done without mentioning Cesar Chavez … One man should not tarnish our classes because they are so much more than that.”

Learning about the reports, Suárez was extremely disappointed but said it sets an important precedent for the Latino community.

“It should be an example of how to respond to these types of allegations,” she said. “It should not matter if this was an historical figure, if he was considered a hero … there should always be accountability. We should never try to justify or look the other way.”