Gov. Gavin Newsom signed AB 2156 on Thursday, March 26 renaming March 31 as Farmworkers Day.
The change comes after allegations of sexual abuse were reported by the New York Times against Cesar Chavez, whom the day was previously named for.
Delta College took steps that align with the state.
“We are still waiting for the California Legislature (and Gov. Newsom) to take action on the pending proposal to rename the holiday. Once that action is taken we will need to evaluate how to move forward at Delta, since the existing name of the holiday is embedded in our contracts and is part of our approved academic calendar, among other things. So, I wish I had more specific details, but we don’t have all of the answers yet,” said Alex Breitler, Director of Marketing and Communications at Delta a day before the signing of AB 2156.
As of today, the online academic calendar still reflected the March 31 holiday as “Cesar Chavez Day.”
The late Chavez was positioned as spokesperson for the plight of farmworkers and his birthday became a California state holiday 26 years ago.
“In 2000, the Legislature passed, and Governor Gray Davis signed into law, Senate Bill 984 (Chapter 213 of the Statutes of 2000), to create the first annual state holiday in the country on César Chávez’s birthday, March 31. Under that law, the State Board of Education also created a statewide curriculum on César Chávez and encourages schools across the state to engage teachers and students in service learning projects as a way of honoring the legendary farm labor and civil rights leader; now, therefore, be it,” reads SR-80, which designated the date for the holiday this year and was introduced by Sen. Alex Padilla on Feb. 12, before the allegations were reported.
Previous reporting by the Collegian has given insight on how members of the Delta community have been affected.
“There is devastation and sadness. People are struggling with this information,” said Professor Adriana Brogger, part of the Chicanx/Latinx faculty group.
The sentiment of changing the name to better fit the movement aligns with the community here at Delta.
“The movement was comprised of many people, it was never about one person,’’ said Brogger.
