San Jose lawmaker fights to keep activist’s name on Navy ship

The federal government might strip the name of one of San Jose’s most beloved activists from a naval ship.

The U.S. Navy, under the direction of Secretary of State Pete Hegseth, is considering renaming Navy cargo ship USNS Cesar Chavez. Elected leaders, along with Cesar Chavez’s family members, are fighting back to keep the ship’s name and preserve Chavez’s legacy as a veteran and historic civil rights and labor activist.

Rep. Sam Liccardo, former San Jose mayor, issued a letter Tuesday alongside Rep. Gil Cisneros and 22 other members of Congress calling for Hegseth and the Navy to keep Chavez’s name on the ship. The renaming is up to Hegseth’s discretion. The letter argues “the legacy of Cesar Chavez is not a partisan issue,” and goes on to say it’s a testament to “the American spirit of sacrifice, service and social progress.”

Liccardo said the potential renaming is personal because his father worked with Chavez to defend farmworkers’ rights. Chavez, who lived in San Jose, 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.

“Cesar Chavez is one of a handful of historic figures that draws universal reverence in our community and in communities throughout our country,” Liccardo told San José Spotlight. “It seems much worse than petty or political or partisan to attempt to erase his legacy.”

The U.S. Navy named the ship after Chavez in 2011, to the delight of thousands of Latino naval shipyard workers. Before Chavez was a local activist, he enlisted in the Navy at 19 and served from 1946 to 1948 in a segregated unit in the Western Pacific.

Rudy Chavez Medina, nephew of Cesar Chavez, said that experience led Cesar to return home and continue to fight for what he believed in.

The Chavez family said the federal government never contacted them about the potential name change. Chavez Medina said it would be a “slap in the face” if Cesar’s name is removed.

“For them to speak about taking the name off or renaming it, it strikes hard (at) the core of our humility, our volunteerism, our work toward social justice,” Chavez Medina told San José Spotlight.

The potential name change comes after the federal government has already removed civil rights leaders’ names from other ships. Last month, Hegseth announced a new name for the USNS Harvey Milk, named after the first openly gay elected politician in California. Milk served on the San Francisco Board of Supervisors until he was assassinated in November 1978.

Andres Chavez, Cesar Chavez’s grandson and executive director of the National Chavez Center, said keeping the name is about more than his grandfather. He said it’s important for all of the Latino men and women who served in the military and didn’t get proper recognition.

Andres added his grandfather always said, “Only by giving our lives do we find life.” He said that rings true now as people across the country fight Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) raids and federal policy.

“A lot of us Americans are really thinking about, what more is it that we can do to be there for our neighbors, to be there for our brothers and sisters,” Andres Chavez told San José Spotlight. “I think about his lessons of solidarity, this idea that we’re more powerful when we work together.”

Chavez Medina said even if the ship is renamed, Cesar Chavez’s power still rings true.

“It would be an injustice (to remove his name),” he told San José Spotlight. “It would be short-sighted, but it wouldn’t be the end of his legacy.”