In Back of the Yards, a neighborhood with a long history of social activism, the push to remove César Chavez’s name from a local elementary school is sparking a reckoning over the leadership of the immigrant rights movement.
In the community where Upton Sinclair’s “The Jungle” was set, the civil rights icon has been an influential figure.
Now, amid disillusionment following news of Chavez’s alleged sexual misconduct, some young rights activists in the neighborhood would like to see a movement that focuses on collective action, rather than a single dominant male leader.
“The idea of idolizing someone … is dangerous,” says Monserrat Ayala, 32, executive director of Increase the Peace, a social justice and violence prevention organization in Back of the Yards. “It gives us a notion that we have to feed into someone coming in to save us.”
Chavez led the farmworker rights movement in the 1960s and ’70s and inspired the fight for immigrant rights and racial equality. He died in 1993.
Rather than a Chavez-like leader, Ayala adds, “[instead,] you can be your own person, to lift up your block, your community, your neighborhood or your city.”
A Back of the Yards native, Ayala has been active with Increase the Peace since its start in 2016, alongside other teens and young adults who wanted to improve their community and fight against violence through peace marches and campouts.
Increase the Peace has since evolved and now offers after-school programs for teens, mutual aid support for immigrants and free legal clinics. Last fall, when U.S. Border Patrol agents were constantly in Back of the Yards arresting immigrants, Ayala says she and others organized volunteers to patrol the neighborhood and warn people about immigration enforcement activity.
By focusing on collective action, Ayala says the commitment that she and other residents embodied is the ultimate example of leadership — a whole community working together to keep each other safe and inspired.
Powered by mothers
Evelyn Aguayo, 25, another young Back of the Yards activist, agrees. Aguayo’s social activism was inspired by Chavez, and she felt devastated and angered when she heard about the allegations against him.
So she wants to see a different kind of leadership now. She points to the immigrant mothers who have led the fight against gun violence in the neighborhood for decades. She says when they speak, they do so without seeking individual credit. It is a characteristic of many women of color, she notes — to do the heavy lifting without looking for the spotlight.
“Las mamas [the mothers] in Back of the Yard are making amazing community events,” Aguayo says, adding they do not often get the recognition they deserve. “They’re out at [community] meetings, they’re passing out flyers.”
But without the spotlight, it is harder for female leaders to be recognized, says Cynthia Olivares, 27, another young Back of the Yards activist. She says Chavez dominated history lessons but not Dolores Huerta, who along with Chavez co-founded the United Farm Workers union.
“We tend to fail to realize that it’s not just one person doing this work,” Olivares says. She notes that Dolores Huerta even went as far as delaying speaking out about the abuse to prioritize the movement.
All these young activists agree that instead of looking for the next leader or icon, the focus needs to be on building sustainable relationships, collective leadership and keeping the civil rights movement alive. This process, Olivares says, requires a lot of organizing, educating and patience, as well as the creation of spaces where people feel empowered to share their opinions.
“I don’t make a decision for other people, or I don’t say ‘This is what we’re going to do’ without considering [what] other people want,” Olivares says.
Renaming a school
Eighth-grader Alondra Aguayo, whose siblings are active with Increase the Peace, grew up learning about Chavez and his fight for workers’ rights.
She was shocked when her mother told her about the abuse allegations.
“I didn’t expect that he would do such a thing,” Aguayo says.
She’s been active in the push to change the name of her elementary school, César Chavez Multicultural Academic Center. Aguayo says she and her mother received surveys from school officials asking for submissions a new name for the school. Her mother suggested Dolores Huerta — a choice many in the community feel is appropriate.
But the eighth grader has a different idea.
“I just put the name Demeter,” she says.
With a shy smile, she explains that Demeter is the goddess of agriculture and signifies hope and perseverance in Greek mythology.
For Ayala, Aguayo’s suggestion drives home the point of collective leadership.
“I would have never thought of the idea of naming a school after values or characteristics that as a student you want to embody,” Ayala said. “And I think that takes away … the responsibility of idolizing one person.”
Chicago Public Schools says the final recommendations for the winning names will be presented for approval to the Board of Education at the next meeting on June 10.