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From California to Minnesota, elected leaders and civil rights groups are scrambling to distance themselves from C\u00e9sar Chavez\u2019s name in the wake of allegations<\/a> that he sexually abused women and girls during the 1960s as he became the face of the farmworkers’ movement. <\/p>\n Efforts have been swift and widespread to rebrand events ahead of what typically was a day to celebrate the life and legacy of the Latino rights advocate on his birthday, March 31. <\/p>\n In Tucson, Arizona, last weekend\u2019s celebration was instead billed as a community and labor fair. In Grand Junction, Colorado, it\u2019s now the S\u00ed, Se Puede Celebration. El Paso, Texas, will mark Tuesday as Community and Labor Heritage Day.<\/p>\n Lawmakers in Minnesota voted this week to end the C\u00e9sar Chavez holiday in their state, while California Gov. Gavin Newsom on Thursday signed a bill to rename C\u00e9sar Chavez Day<\/a> as Farmworkers Day. In Colorado, lawmakers were considering a bill to rename the voluntary state holiday there to Farm Workers Day.<\/p>\n Renaming efforts<\/a> also are underway for dozens of schools, streets and other locations across the United States that are named for Chavez, including the national monument in Keene, California. <\/p>\n The resulting conversations have been anything but easy as supporters grapple with conflicted feelings while sorting out how best to honor what was a pivotal labor and civil rights effort in the United States. <\/p>\n Feelings of disappointment, disbelief and even anger have made for an emotional cocktail for those charting the path forward.<\/p>\n The New York Times recently reported that it found C\u00e9sar Chavez groomed and sexually abused young girls who worked in the movement. The movement’s co-founder, Dolores Huerta<\/a>, also revealed that she was a victim of the abuse in her 30s.<\/p>\n \u201cIt was a personal hurt and a betrayal,” said Jose Luis Chavez, founder and president of the committee that has organized the C\u00e9sar Chavez Celebration for Mesa County, Colorado, for the past decade. The committee is made up of people who have worked in the agricultural industry and whose grandparents and parents cut grapes and picked peaches.<\/p>\n \u201cI think that\u2019s what my committee was feeling, and I think when we look at our community here, that is what people are still feeling,\u201d said Jose Luis Chavez, who is not related to the famous civil rights leader. “They\u2019re feeling a lot of hurt and a lot anger.\u201d<\/p>\n Born from a desire to educate students about marginalized communities, the annual celebration in Grand Junction has evolved into a gathering with music, food, classic cars and high school students taking the stage to accept scholarships.<\/p>\n Canceling it simply wasn’t an option, Jose Luis Chavez said.<\/p>\n