Rename Cesar Chavez Elementary to Helen F. Chavez Elementary
The Issue
As the Bakersfield City School District Board considers options for renaming Cesar Chavez Elementary, it has an opportunity to name it for one of the movement’s most influential, yet largely unrecognized, figures: Helen Fabela Chavez.
Helen Chavez was a lot more than Cesar Chavez’s wife. She was a leader in her own right whose sacrifice, strategy, and struggle changed the world. Raised in McFarland and Delano, Helen worked in the fields as a child and understood firsthand the hardships farm worker families faced. When she and Cesar gave up a steady paycheck in 1962 to organize farm workers, Helen returned to field labor to help feed their eight children and provide the gas money that kept the movement alive.
When members of the farm workers' union debated whether to join the historic Delano grape strike, Helen quietly settled the debate with a simple question: “Are we a union or not?” These simple words helped forge a multicultural movement that would forever change America.
But Helen’s impact extended far beyond organizing. She walked picket lines before dawn, ran the Farm Workers Credit Union for more than 25 years, and became a surrogate mother to countless young people who came to serve the farm worker movement. Through genuine sacrifice, encouragement, and unwavering support, she created community and cared for others in ways that transformed lives.
Helen Chavez serves as a powerful role model because she reminds us that ordinary people can do extraordinary things. She the avoided spotlight, never spoke in public or shouted from mountaintops. Rather, she led through humility, selflessness, and service--showing up every day in humble but powerful ways.
As her son Paul Chavez said, “Helen Chavez never stood behind my father—she stood by his side, and sometimes even out in front.”
Renaming Cesar Chavez Elementary to Helen F. Chavez Elementary would honor a woman whose quiet leadership helped make the farm worker movement possible and whose life offers an enduring example for future generations.
Join us in recognizing an unsung hero and ensuring Bakersfield students learn the name and legacy of Helen F. Chavez.
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The Issue
As the Bakersfield City School District Board considers options for renaming Cesar Chavez Elementary, it has an opportunity to name it for one of the movement’s most influential, yet largely unrecognized, figures: Helen Fabela Chavez.
Helen Chavez was a lot more than Cesar Chavez’s wife. She was a leader in her own right whose sacrifice, strategy, and struggle changed the world. Raised in McFarland and Delano, Helen worked in the fields as a child and understood firsthand the hardships farm worker families faced. When she and Cesar gave up a steady paycheck in 1962 to organize farm workers, Helen returned to field labor to help feed their eight children and provide the gas money that kept the movement alive.
When members of the farm workers' union debated whether to join the historic Delano grape strike, Helen quietly settled the debate with a simple question: “Are we a union or not?” These simple words helped forge a multicultural movement that would forever change America.
But Helen’s impact extended far beyond organizing. She walked picket lines before dawn, ran the Farm Workers Credit Union for more than 25 years, and became a surrogate mother to countless young people who came to serve the farm worker movement. Through genuine sacrifice, encouragement, and unwavering support, she created community and cared for others in ways that transformed lives.
Helen Chavez serves as a powerful role model because she reminds us that ordinary people can do extraordinary things. She the avoided spotlight, never spoke in public or shouted from mountaintops. Rather, she led through humility, selflessness, and service--showing up every day in humble but powerful ways.
As her son Paul Chavez said, “Helen Chavez never stood behind my father—she stood by his side, and sometimes even out in front.”
Renaming Cesar Chavez Elementary to Helen F. Chavez Elementary would honor a woman whose quiet leadership helped make the farm worker movement possible and whose life offers an enduring example for future generations.
Join us in recognizing an unsung hero and ensuring Bakersfield students learn the name and legacy of Helen F. Chavez.
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Petition created on June 16, 2026