NPCA, along with partners, submitted the following letter to the Senate in response to anticipated legislative activity.
Dear Ranking Member Heinrich,
We are writing to express our opposition to Senator Cornyn’s legislative efforts to abolish the Cesar Chavez National Monument. The recent revelations regarding Cesar Chavez are painful and distressing, particularly to the surviving activists of the historic movement, their descendants, farmworker communities, and the stakeholder groups who advocated for the monument’s creation. While these revelations warrant a serious reconsideration of his legacy and representation in our national park system, Senator Cornyn’s bill was crafted without consulting these affected communities and is not the appropriate tool for addressing these issues.
This bill would not only abolish a vital National Park unit focused on Latino and Asian American history but also erase the nationally significant story of the broader Farmworker Movement, including the many leaders, activists, and workers who fought for dignity and fair wages. The movement was always greater than one man, and this history must not be erased.
We support a thoughtful process, involving affected communities, that re-centers the narrative on the broad, diverse composition of the movement and its strategic success in transforming agriculture and labor relations across the West. Furthermore, we support the ongoing legislative efforts by Senator Alex Padilla and Congressman Raul Ruiz to provide a better framework for reinterpreting the movement’s story through a more accurate lens that is not named after, or focused exclusively on, one individual.
Thank you for your consideration of our views.
Sehila Mota Casper, Executive Director, Latinos in Heritage Conservation
Pedro Hernandez, California State Program Director, GreenLatinos
Maite Arce, President & CEO, Hispanic Access Foundation
Dennis Arguelles, Southern California Director, National Parks Conservation Association
Huy Pham, Executive Director, API Americans in Historic Preservation
Dillon Delvo, Executive Director, Little Manila Rising
