First, we spoke with leaders in the Chicano community about how their community is processing the rape allegations against César Chávez. As well as, how one city in Imperial County is confronting those same allegations. Then, an audit on fire-rescue response times and whether the department is meeting its goals.
>>>{WE SPOKE WITH TWO CHICANA LEADERS ABOUT HOW THEIR COMMUNITY IS REACTING TO THE RECENT CESAR CHAVEZ ALLEGATIONS}More on that next. But first. the headlines…###LAST WEEK, CALIFORNIA LAWMAKERS UNANIMOUSLY PASSED A BILL RENAMING THE HOLIDAY TO FARMWORKERS DAY FOLLOWING ALLEGATIONS OF SEXUAL ASSAULT AND ABUSE BY CESAR CHAVEZTHE PROCESS OF RENAMING CESAR CHAVEZ ELEMENTARY SCHOOL BEFORE THAT, SAN DIEGO MAYOR TODD GLORIA SIGNED AN EXECUTIVE ORDER DIRECTING CITY DEPARTMENTS TO BEGIN REMOVING REFERENCES TO CESAR CHAVEZ FROM BUILDINGS PUT OUT AN OPEN LETTER ON SUNDAY WITH THE MESSAGE OF LA LUCHA SIGUE OR THE FIGHT CONTINUES THE EFFORT WAS LED BYCO-SIGNERS OF THE LETTER SAY QUOTE TOGETHER, WE MUST DEMAND TRANSPARENCY AND ACCOUNTABILITY FROM ANYONE WHO PERPETRATES, ENABLES OR IGNORES ABUSE -- FROM THE FIELDS TO THE WHITE HOUSE, UNQUOTEWEEK – ALONGSIDE SOME GUSTY WINDS AS WELL THERE IS A WIND ADVISORY CURRENTLY IN EFFECT FOR OUR MOUNTAIN AREAS STARTING TONIGHT AT 8 P-M THROUGH 11 P-MOUR VALLEYS ARE EXPECTED TO BE IN THE MID SEVENTIES AND THE LOWER DESERTS WILL LAND IN THE LOW EIGHTIES From KPBS, you’re listening to San Diego News Now.
>>>{WE SPOKE WITH TWO CHICANA LEADERS ABOUT HOW THEIR COMMUNITY IS REACTING TO THE RECENT CESAR CHAVEZ ALLEGATIONS}More on that next. But first... the headlines…###LAST WEEK, CALIFORNIA LAWMAKERS UNANIMOUSLY PASSED A BILL RENAMING THE HOLIDAY TO FARMWORKERS DAY FOLLOWING ALLEGATIONS OF SEXUAL ASSAULT AND ABUSE BY CESAR CHAVEZTHE PROCESS OF RENAMING CESAR CHAVEZ ELEMENTARY SCHOOL BEFORE THAT, SAN DIEGO MAYOR TODD GLORIA SIGNED AN EXECUTIVE ORDER DIRECTING CITY DEPARTMENTS TO BEGIN REMOVING REFERENCES TO CESAR CHAVEZ FROM BUILDINGS PUT OUT AN OPEN LETTER ON SUNDAY WITH THE MESSAGE OF LA LUCHA SIGUE OR THE FIGHT CONTINUES THE EFFORT WAS LED BYCO-SIGNERS OF THE LETTER SAY QUOTE TOGETHER, WE MUST DEMAND TRANSPARENCY AND ACCOUNTABILITY FROM ANYONE WHO PERPETRATES, ENABLES OR IGNORES ABUSE -- FROM THE FIELDS TO THE WHITE HOUSE, UNQUOTEWEEK – ALONGSIDE SOME GUSTY WINDS AS WELL THERE IS A WIND ADVISORY CURRENTLY IN EFFECT FOR OUR MOUNTAIN AREAS STARTING TONIGHT AT 8 P-M THROUGH 11 P-MOUR VALLEYS ARE EXPECTED TO BE IN THE MID SEVENTIES AND THE LOWER DESERTS WILL LAND IN THE LOW EIGHTIES From KPBS, you’re listening to San Diego News Now.Stay with me for more of the local news you need.ON WHAT USED TO BE KNOWN AS CÉSAR CHAVEZ DAY, CHICANOS ARE GRAPPLING WITH RECENT ALLEGATIONS AGAINST THE FARMWORKERS RIGHTS ICON. REPORTER KATIE HYSON SPOKE WITH TWO CHICANA LEADERS ABOUT HOW THEIR COMMUNITIES ARE PROCESSING THE NEWS.Earlier this month, multiple women accused César Chavez of child sexual abuse and rape in the New York Times. SOT :14 That moment was difficult. You know, I think it still is very difficult. Confusing, you know, very confusing. Worrisome. Concerning. It's just, I don't know, I just feel like without words, right?SOT :17 It's very difficult to articulate, you know, because I think we're all, many of us, are still very much in our, in our emotions, you know, and I point to my heart because it feels it feels, conflicted on so many, so many levels.SOT :19 Ultimately we need to question, like, why we, why we uphold, particular heroes and icons. And I think we do so because colonialism, you know, and genocide and did a number on us, right? It, it attempted to erase us. Figueroa says elevating icons like Chavez was a way to survive that erasure. To say, ‘Aqui estamos y no nos vamos.’ To carve out space for themselves, culturally and physically. SOT :15 I know statues and are covered now or, you know, busts are being, you know, chipped away and, murals are being painted over and, or covered and so very, very swiftly. She says people are doing what they need to do to respond to the situation. And, it’s a painful loss for a community that fought so hard to win representation in the first place. The response to the allegations has been swift. Schools and streets are being renamed across the country. California renamed today Farmworkers Day. Chavez’s face is rapidly disappearing from public spaces.SOT :06 Our culture is very different, you know? I think we just need time for, for pause and reflection. She says that pause and reflection is not to disregard the survivors. But to figure out how to hold their stories in a way that honors them. Something that will take longer than a week. Monica Hernández shared a similar sentiment. She’s the new executive director of the Chicano Park Museum and Cultural Center. SOT :22 Because we take the time to, to try and think collectively, that's why, you know, it's a slower process. And particularly in this instance, there are going to be long term wide range implications for our community. And that's why we feel the need for us to move in a very nuanced kind of way. White-dominated modern media isn’t built for that kind of processing. Reporters call immediately. They need quotes now for a story today. SOT :47 We're being asked to sit in front of a camera, right, to, to think out loud things that we are still trying to process internally, right? That there are conversations I haven't even had the time to have with myself because particularly with communities that go through so many things that, you know, we've experienced so much trauma we’re marginalized, underrepresented, on a day to day, we are really existing in a level of like survival mode and then we have these moments of crisis where we're expected to drop everything to address that. And so it puts us in this really tough place spiritually, emotionally, intellectually. And while consequences for Chavez’s legacy have been swift, she doesn’t see the same consequences for other men. SOT :30 We have an ongoing problem against violence against women, regardless of race, regardless of ethnicity. This is something that continues to happen to women, that we have, again, someone in power right now that has, there's multiple allegations against him. Not just him, but many other men in power. And to this day, there has not been any accountability. Figueroa noted something else getting lost in all the conversations and questions about Chavez – the survivors. Instead of focusing on the fall of an icon, she says we should focus on asking: How did this happen? And how can we make sure it doesn’t happen again?FOR DECADES, THE IMPERIAL VALLEY CITY OF BRAWLEY HAS CELEBRATED CÉSAR CHÁVEZ AS A HOMETOWN HERO. NOW, THE CITY IS CONFRONTING HIS ALLEGED ABUSES. As allegations of rape and sexual abuse against American civil rights icon César Chávez emerged two weeks ago, Max Reyes didn’t hesitate. Reyes is the son of Mexican American farmworkers and the organizer of Brawley’s annual César Chávez Day march. The very next day, he removed Chávez’s name from the event on Facebook. Renaming it the “El Movimiento March.”Sadness uh like a betrayal, uh hurt. This is the feelings I had uh because we had placed this man in on a such a pedestal. The allegations against Chávez, which are continuing to shake California, have been especially painful for Brawley. The farming community where Chávez went to middle school… and where his wife was born. A painting of Chávez sits on the east wall of the school he attended, Miguel Hidalgo Elementary. And the city has a central street named after him. City officials say they’re looking at options for renaming it. Reyes says the name has to come down. He says the farmworker’s rights movement is not a cult — unwilling to see their leaders’ flaws, protecting them at all costs.The Brawley City Council could discuss renaming César Chávez Street as early as next week.AS COUNTY OFFICIALS CONSIDER MAJOR REFORMS AND TAX MEASURES, SUPERVISORS ARE MEETING BEHIND CLOSED DOORS. FOR THIS WEEK’S EDITION OF ‘WHY IT MATTERS,’ VOICE OF SAN DIEGO’S SCOTT LEWIS EXPLAINS HOW OFFICIALS HAVE BEEN SKIRTING TRANSPARENCY REQUIREMENTSFor months, county supervisors have met in secret subcommittees to discuss various issues. One pair of them hired a team to help gauge support for tax increases. They also put a bid out for other consultants to lobby the state to make it as easy as possible to raise taxes.The county says these secret subcommittees are not official and do not need to follow the state’s open meeting law, known as the Brown Act. Longtime public transparency advocate David Loy says the county is getting close to potentially violating the law."It does present serious concerns, and I think the county should be concerned, and there's nothing to stop the board from erring on the side of transparency and treating these committees as covered by the Brown Act. And I understand that may be less convenient, you know transparency isn't always efficient or convenient, but we have a Brown Act for a reason." After the lobbying contract was killed, county staff agreed to summarize what happens in the subcommittees for other supervisors.The county is currently considering tax increases and much more that could affect residents. THE CITY’S AUDITOR IS OUT WITH A NEW REPORT ON THE FIRE-RESCUE DEPARTMENT'S RESPONSE TIMES. ______________________________________________AB: The audit examined responses to medical emergencies, not wildfires. And it did not focus on travel time, or how long it takes a fire engine to get through traffic and reach the scene. Instead, the report looked at turnout time. Once a call is received, how long does it take a firefighter to suit up and reach the fire engine? City auditor Andy Hanau said the department changed its policy in 2019 to avoid sending out crews unnecessarily. AH: There is a tradeoff with that system. It preserves resources, as they pointed out. It also slows the response to medical emergencies. AB: The city firefighters union criticized the audit's methodology and said the city can improve response times by building more fire stations. Andrew Bowen, KPBS news.A NEW EXHIBIT AT THE U-S-S MIDWAY MUSEUM HIGHLIGHTS THE EXPERIENCES OF PRISONERS OF WAR DURING THE VIETNAM WAR. POW 1 :57Capt. Jack Ensch was one of 11 Naval aviators from the USS Midway to be shot down and captured by North Vietnamese forces during the Vietnam War.The museum held a National Vietnam Veterans Day ceremony Monday alongside the opening of its new exhibit. Kathy Ensch was home in San Diego when her husband Jack went missing. She says the military family support network wasn’t what it is today. And things were difficult for her and their 7-year-old daughter. KE: she didn't think she'd ever see her daddy again, and there was no counseling available at all. I was on my own. The new exhibit takes visitors through squadron ready rooms.Those were the last places air crew saw before they left on missions.>>That’s it for the podcast today. As always you can find more San Diego news online at KPBS dot org. I’m Lawrence K. Jackson. Thanks for listening and subscribing; by doing so you are supporting public media and I really want to thank you for that. Have a great day!
United States Latest News, United States Headlines
Similar News:You can also read news stories similar to this one that we have collected from other news sources.
Swift and widespread, efforts to rebrand César Chavez Day are fueled by emotion and dutyFrom California to Minnesota, elected leaders and civil rights groups are scrambling to distance themselves from César Chavez’s name in the wake of sexual abuse allegations.
Read more »
Swift and widespread, efforts to rebrand César Chavez Day are fueled by emotion and dutyFrom California to Minnesota, elected leaders and civil rights groups are scrambling to distance themselves from César Chavez’s name in the wake of sexual abuse allegations.
Read more »
Nationwide efforts underway to rebrand César Chavez Day after abuse allegationsFrom California to Minnesota, elected leaders and civil rights groups are scrambling to distance themselves from César Chavez’s name in the wake of sexual abuse allegations. Efforts have been swift and widespread to rebrand events ahead of what typically was a day to celebrate the Latino rights advocate on his birthday, March 31.
Read more »
Swift and widespread, efforts to rebrand César Chavez Day are fueled by emotion and dutyFrom California to Minnesota, elected leaders and civil rights groups are scrambling to distance themselves from César Chavez’s name in the wake of
Read more »
Swift and widespread, efforts to rebrand César Chavez Day are fueled by emotion and dutyFrom California to Minnesota, elected leaders and civil rights groups are scrambling to distance themselves from César Chavez’s name in the wake of sexual abuse allegations.
Read more »
Why Did Women Keep Silent for Decades After Alleged Abuse by Cesar Chavez?A University of Denver psychology professor explains why women could have remained silent about Cesar Chavez's alleged abuse.
Read more »