The San Diego Unified School District (SDSUD) is beginning a process Wednesday to rename a Southcrest elementary school following sexual abuse allegations against deceased labor leader César Chávez earlier this month.
The SDUSD's Board of Education began the formal renaming process for César Chávez Elementary School on Tuesday night, the first step in a "structured, community-driven process designed to ensure transparency, inclusivity, and meaningful engagement."
"We recognize that this is not a simple or easy moment," District Superintendent Fabi Bagula said. "It calls for us to lead with clarity, with care, and with integrity. Our focus remains on supporting our students and community, creating space for meaningful dialogue, and ensuring that the outcome of this process reflects the values we hold as a district."
A district regulation usually limits the SDUSD to one school name or mascot change each year, but the board considered the item regardless, reflecting the severity of the Chavez allegations. The process will include the formation of a naming committee and opportunities for the community to provide input.
"As we change the name of César Chávez Elementary School, I look forward to a process that pulls together students, families, educators and community leaders to honor the history of the farm workers movement, and to develop a name that inspires future generations of young people to know they can make a positive difference in this world," Board President Richard Barrera said.
Chávez allegedly sexually assaulted female followers as young as 12 in the 1970s, and raped United Farm Workers co-founder Dolores Huerta, now 95, in 1966, according to an explosive New York Times investigation released earlier this month.
Bagula told City News Service the allegations were "serious, concerning and deeply troubling."
"Our first responsibility is to acknowledge and support anyone who may have been harmed," she said. "As we move forward, including conversations about a school that bears his name, our focus will be on listening deeply to better understand the impact to the school community and how we might collectively move forward in a way that prioritizes student safety and a sense of belonging."
The San Diego Community College District, which has a César E. Chávez Campus in Barrio Logan, along César E. Chávez Parkway, will review a potential renaming of the campus at its April 6 board meeting.
"These reports are deeply concerning, and our thoughts are with everyone impacted," according to a district statement. "SDCCD is committed to providing a safe, respectful environment for all, and we do not tolerate sexual misconduct or abuse of any kind. As we assess current and new information, SDCCD will prioritize feedback from our community and upholding our values of safety, dignity and respect for all."
The Times story was published one day after the UFW and the César Chávez Foundation announced that they will abstain from honoring the late labor leader on this year's state holiday on March 31, citing "disturbing allegations."
The Times said its story was based on interviews with more than 60 people, including top Chávez aides at the time, his relatives and former members of the UFW.
The story quotes a woman who says Chávez took her into his office when he was 45 and she was 13, kissed her and pulled her pants down. She said dozens of sexual encounters followed over the next four years, though she says none involved intercourse.
Another woman says she was 12 when Chávez groped her breast, and 15 when he arranged to have her stay at a motel during a march through California and had sexual intercourse with her.
Both women were the daughters of organizers who had marched in rallies alongside Chávez, according to the Times. The story claims that Chávez used other women in the farm labor movement for "sexual gratification."
Huerta, who will turn 96 on April 10, told the newspaper that Chávez drove her to a secluded grape field in Delano, California, in 1966 and raped her in the vehicle. She said she never reported the attack out of concerns for police hostility toward Chávez and the labor movement, and because she feared she wouldn't be believed.
"Unfortunately, he used some of his great leadership to abuse women and children — it's really awful," Huerta told the Times.
Chávez died in 1993 at age 66.
