Minnesota to repeal Cesar Chavez Day after bill passes Legislature

Ryan Faircloth, Star Tribune on Mar 26, 2026

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MINNEAPOLIS — Minnesota will no longer recognize March 31 as Cesar Chavez Day after the Legislature passed a bill repealing the commemoration of the farm labor leader’s birthday.

The Senate unanimously approved the legislation on Thursday, March 26, following revelations that Chavez groomed and sexually abused girls who worked as part of his movement.

The bill also unanimously passed the House on Monday, and a spokeswoman for Gov. Tim Walz said he will sign it.

The Senate’s vote came one week after the New York Times published an investigation that found extensive evidence that the civil rights leader sexually abused girls. The report has prompted the nation to reassess the Latino civil rights leader’s legacy.

“Chavez has been celebrated for years for his role in the United Farm Workers Union while the women who survived his abuse suffered in silence,” said state Sen. Sandy Pappas, DFL-St. Paul, who was one of the authors of the law that created the state holiday.

“The message from today’s workers and leaders is clear: Cesar Chavez Day is no longer how we should celebrate Minnesota’s Latino communities.”

Pappas said she will look to create a holiday celebrating Minnesota’s Latino communities, possibly naming it “United Farm Workers Day.”

Several other states that celebrate Chavez’s birthday, including California, Washington, Arizona and Texas, have signaled they will not promote the holiday and may remove it from state law.

California lawmakers said last week that they intend to rename Cesar Chavez Day as “Farmworkers Day.”

Minnesota state Sen. Michael Holmstrom, R-Buffalo, said the repeal of Cesar Chavez Day in Minnesota is long overdue: “For far too long, this state has honored a man whose Marxist ideology and conduct were deeply troubling.”

Efforts are also in motion to rename Cesar Chavez Street on St. Paul’s West Side and a charter school in the city.

St. Paul Mayor Kaohly Her said this week that she is speaking with community members about renaming Cesar Chavez Street.

“This is our residents’ decision, and so we want to pull a larger stakeholder group together,” Her said. “... What do we name it afterwards? It’s not just about removing that name now.”

Ramona Arreguín de Rosales, co-founder of Academia Cesar Chavez in St. Paul, said she has recommended to the charter school’s board that it “take down the name immediately and change the school’s name.”

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