03/26/2026
Public Statement on Renaming Cesar Chavez Elementary and Telling the Full Truth
Our community has asked, over and over, for our schools to teach the real history of the farmworker movement—and the broader Raza movements for social justice—not as symbols, not as slogans, but as living, ongoing struggles built by our people.
That hasn’t happened, but we’ve been saying this for a long time
Now we are in a moment we didn’t choose, but we are responsible for what we do with it.
Recent revelations have brought forward burdens that many people, especially women, have carried for a long time in the name of serving and protecting our people, our histories, and our movements. This is not a moment to protect images. It’s a moment to tell the truth.
It’s also not a time for easy solutions. We respect Dolores Huerta’s request that schools not be named after her.
So let’s be clear: this is not about replacing one person with another.
We are calling for the renaming of César Chávez Elementary School in a way that reflects what was always true—the movement was never one man. It was thousands of workers, families, organizers, and especially women, whose names we often don’t know, but whose work made everything possible.
At the same time, we are not calling for César Chávez to be erased.
His work as an organizer, as a union leader, and the accomplishments he helped create must be taught fully and honestly. We already teach history that includes deeply flawed individuals—people who were slave owners, who upheld systems of racism and violence, who committed serious harm, and who remain part of our curriculum. We do not erase them. We teach them in full context.
That is not new.
What is new is whether we are willing to apply that same standard here—to tell the whole truth, even when it is uncomfortable, and even when it challenges long-held narratives.
That is what we owe our students. Renaming the school is only one step.
We are also calling for the creation of a Social Justice and Cultural Learning Center at the school, serving the entire district. A place where students learn:
1. The farmworker movement as part of the broader, ongoing Raza movements for social justice
2. New Mexico Hispano, Chicano, and Indigenous histories, including land, acequias, and community traditions
Mexican, Guatemalan, and Latin American histories that reflect who our families are
3. The leadership of women, and the realities of power, patriarchy, and silence
4. And yes, a place where students can engage honestly with the harder parts of our history such as colonization, conflict, and the tensions we are still living with today.
Education is not about protecting comfort. It’s about preparing young people to understand the world and change it.
This is not just about a name or a “tarnished” legacy. This is the moment we ask ourselves if we're willing to move beyond myth and into truth. This moment challenges us to seek justice not only for the women and girls who were harmed by someone we all trusted, but for all the stories that went lost to history and the truths we’ve repeatedly failed to talk about.
Our kids are ready for that. The question is—are we?
