Re-Writing AAPI History TOGETHER
With the recent wrong-doings of Caesar Chavez, a movement has started to re-name holidays, streets, buildings and other public assets named after him. For too long the story of the farmworker movement has revolved around Chavez and this is a moment to lift up the real story of the farmworker movement and all of the leaders that made the accomplishments that we celebrate possible. The Filipino farmworker organizers and leaders are often left out or their role mis-represented instead of lifting up the critical role they played as the group that had decades of labor organizing expertise. One example is a Filipino American named Larry Itliong was one of the key strategists of the Coachella and Delano Strikes that saw the need to bring together all of the farmworkers who were normally segregated and pitted against each other by the growers. Larry was the one to reach out to Caesar Chavez. as well as other Filipino American Leaders, Philip Vera Cruz, Peter Velasco, Andy Imutan who were founding members of the United Farm Workers union.
With recent findings of the wrong-doings of Caesar Chavez, we would like to tell the real story of the farmworkers movement, especially correcting and uplifting the Filipino and AAPI story that has been left out and misrepresented.
Results:
On Tuesday March 24, 2026, the following 2 Motions passed at The Board of Los Angeles Supervisors Public Meeting:
Item 9 - Renaming County Honors for Cesar Chavez and Centering Survivors
Directs the County Chief Executive Office and County Counsel to develop a community-driven process for renaming parks, streets, County facilities, real property, monuments, and other programs that currently bear Cesar Chavez’s name, including the potential removal of related imagery in civic artworks. A report outlining the proposed process is requested within 21 days.
The motion asks that the report include a plan for multilingual, culturally competent outreach across impacted communities, including residents and non-profits. Recommendations should ensure that outreach is trauma-informed, allowing participation without stigma or fear of reprisal.
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Item 18-A - Renaming Cesar Chavez Day to Farmworkers Day in Recognition of Farmworkers’ Resilience and Contributions
Renames the County holiday honoring Cesar Chavez as Farmworkers Day, beginning this year and annually thereafter.
On March 19, 2026, Speaker of the California State Assembly Robert Rivas and State Senate President pro Tempore Monique Limón announced legislation to rename the state holiday in the same way. This recognizes the legacy of farmworkers, addresses ongoing challenges, and reaffirms our commitment to their dignity and rights.
The motion directs the County Chief Executive Office to issue guidance to all County departments regarding the March 30, 2026 holiday. This includes removing the name and likeness of Cesar Chavez from all holiday-related events, communications, and materials, and refocusing events on farmworker justice, labor rights, and community service
The Movement is seeking the following to Re-Write History:
1) We are pushing that not only should the Name of the day/holiday of Caesar Chavez be changed, but the date should be changed as well to better reflect an important day for the farmworker movement (currently it is Caesar Chavez birthday March 31st - Date to be determined)
2) Hold an inclusive process to identify and rename all public assets named after Caesar Chavez to re-tell and recognize the leadership of the diversity of leaders of the farmworkers movement including Filipinos, Japanese, Seikh and other AAPI, other important farmworker leaders from the Mexican community like Deb Rojas' dad, Al Rojas, as well as lifting up the leadership of women in the movement.
3) We are organizing to have this happen at the city, county, state and federal levels. We are focused first on Los Angeles County and the state of California.