Cesar Chavez co-founded the National Farm Workers Association, which later evolved into the United Farm Workers union. For many years, Chavez was celebrated as a non-violent activist who advocated for farmworkers’s rights. That was until an investigation from the New York Times changed everything.
The report detailed allegations from Debra Rojas and Ana Murguia, both daughters of UFW organizers, who said that Chavez sexually abused them when they were 12 and 13 years old. Dolores Huerta, co-founder of UFW, also came forward, stating that Chavez raped her in 1966.
In response to the allegations, Gov. Gavin Newsom signed legislation renaming Cesar Chavez Day as Farmworkers Day. Several other states and cities followed suit. The conversation has reached Chabot College in Hayward, which now questions its Cesar Chavez courtyard.
Just outside the cafeteria is the Cesar Chavez Courtyard, an outdoor venue that hosts on-campus events. As of this publication, the school has not yet decided on a name and is still in the early stages of discussions. According to Student Vice President of Government Relations Phylis Essandoh, the school aims to rename the courtyard in relation to the school itself or the city of Hayward.
“If we are changing the name, we’re changing it to something based around the school or Hayward, and not another leader,” Essandoh said. “I think as humans, we do make a lot of mistakes. Because of that, we shouldn’t be naming stuff after fellow humans.”
However, the school is still in the planning phase and is waiting for more information to emerge from the allegations before making any moves. Chabot President Jamal A. Cooks hasn’t made a statement.
The news of the allegations came as a shock to some Chabot students.
Chabot Puente student Luis Angel Carranza said the news was heartbreaking, especially “coming from a family that highly looked up to Cesar Chavez, and being … in the community where all of his instructors were heavily influenced and impacted by his wonderful work.”
Other students believe that the entire community should have a voice in deciding the new name.
“As a community, it affected everybody,” said Chabot student Saul Cornejo Casillas. “I feel like everybody should decide together what it should be named, maybe through a voting process. … Everybody can have their own voice.”
While students are still weighing the issue, there are no signs of resistance to renaming the courtyard. As Chabot considers distancing itself from Chavez and renaming its courtyard to something rooted in the college or the city of Hayward, the school remains in the early stages of discussion, and no official timeline has been announced. According to Essandoh, it could take up to two years to rename the courtyard.
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TOP PHOTO: In San Fernando, a statue of Cesar Chavez was covered and removed on March 19, 2026. Other murals and statues in the city were also covered following the allegations against Chavez. (Photo by Ivan Kokoulin/ Dreamstime)
Kian Amininejad is the Senior staff writer of The Express. Follow him on X @Kian_Amininejad.
