Leaders at a Chicago public school named after Cesar Chavez, who co-founded the United Farm Workers, have started a process that could change the school’s name.
This comes after a New York Times investigation published Wednesday found that Chavez groomed young girls who worked in the movement. Chicago Public Schools officials say leaders at Cesar E. Chavez Multicultural Academic Center in the Back of the Yards neighborhood have begun getting community feedback. Any recommendation would have to go to the Local School Council and ultimately the school board.
Chavez, who died in 1993, has long been lionized in Chicago’s Latino and labor strongholds. There are now calls to recast how he is remembered. In Chicago, Chavez is honored with the school name, a plaque at the Haymarket Memorial in the West Loop, and murals located from Southport to Little Village.