Officials around Davis, Yolo ‘disgusted and made heartsick’ by Chavez revelations
The city of Davis canceled its annual Cesar Chavez celebration, the city announced Thursday.
The announcement comes after a New York Times investigation surfaced sexual abuse allegations against the labor leader.
In lieu of the event, the city “will focus its efforts on a future event that supports our immigrant community and recognizes the contributions they bring to Davis,” city spokesperson Barbara Archer said in a statement. The event has not been scheduled.
“I can only imagine the grief that the farmworker community must be experiencing today,” Davis Mayor Donna Neville said in a statement. “But the farmworker movement was never built by one man. It was a collective action, built on the fearlessness of thousands of workers, organizers and families who put their lives on the line to fight for dignity and justice.”
Archer emphasized the contributions farmworkers have made in Davis and said the city would continue to advocate for labor rights.
“The farmworker legacy belongs to everyone who fought this battle, and who continues to fight, to protect farmworker rights, including Dolores Huerta and the other brave women who spoke out yesterday,” Neville said.
The city of Davis has no parks, streets or buildings named for Chavez, a city spokesperson said. A Yolo County spokesperson said the county also has no facilities or features bearing his name.
But a UC Davis youth leadership conference named for Cesar Chavez was also renamed following the accusations against the labor leader, who died in 1993.
“We are aware of troubling reports concerning alleged behavior by Cesar Chavez during his life as a labor leader and activist,” a UC Davis spokesperson wrote in a statement. “In light of this, UC Davis is removing Chavez’s name from the conference, which will now be known as the Avanza Rising Scholars Conference. We remain committed to offering leadership opportunities and mentorship to youth and families through the conference and other programming.”
UC Davis’ decision to rename the conference aligned with actions taken by other institutions that had honored Chavez. The city of Sacramento is considering renaming Cesar E. Chavez Plaza, and Fresno State officials have covered a Chavez statue they plan to remove.
“Since 2001, tens of thousands of junior high, high school and community college students from predominantly low-income and underrepresented backgrounds have participated in our annual college access conference in coordination with UC Davis’ Avanza Initiative,” the university’s statement reads. “The conference connects young people with campus resources, information and guidance to support their path to higher education, and that mission will continue.”
One school in the county bears his name, Cesar Chavez Elementary School in west Davis, which was named in 1997.
The Davis Joint Unified School District was “disgusted and made heartsick” by the allegations, the district said in a statement. “As we take time to thoughtfully and deliberately consider next steps, our priority remains the well-being of our students, staff and families,” the district wrote. “We are committed to approaching this moment with compassion, respect and age-appropriate dialogue, grounded in our core values of equity and inclusion.”
A Davis nonprofit operates a permanent supportive housing complex called Cesar Chavez Plaza in downtown Davis, providing subsidized housing and wraparound services. The nonprofit, Davis Community Meals and Housing, did not respond to requests for comment.
This story was originally published March 19, 2026 at 8:14 AM.
