It is APPROVED to erase the name and image of César Chávez from its schools

Los Angeles schools named after César Chávez will be renamed and his image will be removed from college murals, the school board decided unanimously Tuesday.

The move came after a brief but emotional discussion as board members reacted to the personal and public image collapse that has taken place in the nation’s second-largest school district, which is 74% Latino. Two campuses are named after him, many school murals feature his image and lessons about his legacy are taught in all grades.

The swift action came after allegations of sexual abuse against the late labor leader were revealed in a New York Times investigative article last week, including allegations that he raped farmworker union leader Dolores Huerta and sexually assaulted two young girls.

The board’s vote represents a significant step by another community organization — this one that educates nearly 400,000 students — to remove Chávez’s name from public spaces.

Los Angeles teachers were also ordered to immediately move from lionizing Chávez to instead honoring the farm workers union. The decision itself highlights the praise, by name, of the accusers who came forward.

School board members Kelly Gonez and Rocio Rivas – who two weeks ago won board approval for a resolution calling Chávez “a true American hero” – said the review was painful but necessary.

Fighting back tears, Gonez said he was “horrified” to hear about the “repeated abuse of girls and women.”

The actions accused of Chavez “represent a betrayal … to many of us, yet it affects many survivors and many women who have experienced this as girls and in our old age, including me.”

All seven board members joined as supporters of Tuesday’s resolution, which calls for more support for victims of sexual assault.

The school district is now turning to the process of renaming César Chávez Learning Academies in San Fernando and César Chávez Elementary School in El Sereno, hoping to have new names by this fall. Statistics for affected drawings were not available.

In a similar vein – and in a similar fashion to all California school districts – San Diego Unified, the state’s second largest school district, has announced plans to rename Chávez Elementary School.

“This action represents the first step in a systematic, community-driven process designed to ensure transparency, inclusiveness and meaningful collaboration,” the district said in a statement.

The goal is to “develop a name that inspires future generations of young people to know that they can make a positive difference in this world,” said San Diego school board president Richard Barrera.

Words of love for LAUSD

LA Unified board member Gonez likened the decision to “looking at all levels of government and all of our educational institutions.”

He added: “And this decision is about speaking with one voice, that we stand with survivors and fight against all forms of sexual violence, that we speak out against the cycle that leads to the abuse of children, of women – that we read in the news every day with the Epstein files and now with someone who has become a hero for many of us.

Board member Rivas spoke similarly.

“Let me say this freely,” said Rivas. “We believe that you and all survivors. We stand with you. I also want to acknowledge that for many in our school community, students, staff and families, this one moment can be very traumatic. It can bring out personal experiences, fear or real pain, and we have a responsibility to respond carefully, urgently and with support.”

He said that such abuse, “is about power, about systems that protect people over people, and about the ways in which abuse is often allowed to trust and close.”

LA Unified board member Tanya Ortiz Franklin followed.

“We cannot support a program that promotes peace, that elevates men and leaders who commit this abuse of girls and women,” Franklin said. “And today, this district no longer means anything – by changing the name of the schools, by changing the murals and like César Chávez or any others, we stand for the survivors.”

Every member of the board had something to say, including board President Scott Schmerelson, who praised the courage of the women who came forward, and Nick Melvoin.

“The men of this board and this district stand with the women of LA Unified, our staff, our students and families,” said Melvoin, “united in this effort to end this culture, the culture of the system, not only in this country, but in other countries, of abuse.”

Under the resolution, the district will “ensure that resources and counseling are made available to survivors of sexual violence in our school communities … including ensuring that school sites have clear, confidential reporting mechanisms, trained staff and trauma-informed support for students affected by sexual violence.”

Acting Supt. Andres Chait said, for many years, employees receive regular training on these issues. The latest approach has been to educate students again – so they can better protect themselves and their peers.

The decision to rename the schools was made during an emergency meeting of the LA Board of Education that was scheduled as a “retreat board” to discuss the revision of the district’s strategic plan.