César E. Chávez and the Farmworker Movement National Historical Park Act

This bill creates the César E. Chávez and the Farmworker Movement National Historical Park to preserve and share the history of César Chávez and the farmworker movement. It renames the existing national monument in Keene, California, as the new historical park and keeps existing funds in place for it. The goal is to protect important places and help the public learn about this part of American history, with the National Park Service able to work with partners and offer interpretation even at non-federal sites .

The park will include the site in Keene and may add more locations tied to the movement—The Forty Acres in Delano (CA), Santa Rita Center in Phoenix (AZ), and McDonnell Hall in San Jose (CA)—once land is acquired or agreements are in place. A management plan is due within three years after funding, and it must consider adding other sites in places like the Coachella Valley and beyond. The bill also orders a study of a roughly 300-mile “Farmworker Peregrinación” route from Delano to Sacramento for possible National Historic Trail status, reflecting the 1966 march .

Key points

• Who is affected: Visitors, students, and local communities in California and Arizona; site owners and groups that choose to partner with the National Park Service; and the National Park Service, which will manage the park and can enter cooperative agreements with states, local governments, organizations, and individuals.
• What changes: Establishes a national historical park; renames the Keene monument; allows adding specific sites if land is acquired or agreements are made; permits land acquisition from willing sellers or by donation; and launches a study of the Delano-to-Sacramento march route as a potential National Historic Trail .
• When: A general management plan must be completed within three years after funds are available; new sites can be added once land deals or agreements are finalized, with public notice to follow.