After sex abuse claims, activists and lawmakers rethink Cesar Chavez Day

As a leading labor organizer, Chavez helped lead a major strike against Delano grape growers in the 1960s that led to nationwide boycotts to obtain better wages and conditions for workers. His mantra, “si, se puede,” meaning “yes, we can” in Spanish, was adopted by later activists and politicians and was even used in Barack Obama’s presidential campaign during his first run for office.