The name of San Jose activist Cesar Chavez will stay on a U.S. Navy ship, after a local lawmaker pushed the federal government to continue honoring his name and legacy.
An Aug. 1 letter from U.S. Secretary of the Navy John Phelan confirmed the federal government will not rename the USNS Cesar Chavez, a ship recognizing the historic figure. The letter is in response to a call from Reps. Sam Liccardo and Gil Cisneros last month to preserve the ship’s name in recognition of Chavez as a veteran and civil and labor rights movement leader. The letter said the future naming of all ships and pre-commissioning units in the ship-building pipeline “will reflect the Commander-in-Chief’s and (Secretary of Defense’s) priorities, our Nation’s history and the warrior ethos.”
Liccardo said the name’s preservation provides some relief against the presidential administration’s actions, adding the decision could be an appeal to Latino voters President Donald Trump lost support from due to recent immigration raids and deportations. Liccardo said Chavez, who lived in San Jose, is a local hero whose name deserves to be honored. Chavez is known for organizing the country’s first successful farmworkers union, now known as the United Farm Workers, in the early 1960s. He also led strikes and protests in the Central Valley, along with national boycotts…