In a new wave of statements Wednesday, Latino labor and civil rights leaders reacted to allegations that César Chavez sexually abused people in the farmworker movement, including Dolores Huerta, decades after Chavez’s death. Huerta said she disclosed the accounts only after years of silence, and her comments immediately fed into calls from political figures and organizations to rethink public memorials tied to Chavez’s legacy.
Huerta’s statement said she was among the women and girls who told The New York Times they were sexually abused by Chavez. She described two encounters, including one that she said involved being “manipulated and pressured” and another she said involved being “forced against my will,” according to the Associated Press report. Huerta said she carried the secret for 60 years because she worried that speaking would harm the farmworker movement.
Huerta also said that both encounters led to pregnancies that she kept secret and that the children were raised by other families. “No one knew the full truth about how they were conceived until just a few weeks ago,” she said in her statement, adding that she did not know Chavez hurt other women and condemned his actions while emphasizing that the movement was larger than any one person.
In her comments, Huerta framed the farmworker effort as a collective project and urged continued activism. “César’s actions do not diminish the permanent improvements achieved for farmworkers with the help of thousands of people,” she said. “We must continue to engage and support our community, which needs advocacy and activism now more than ever.”
Chavez’s family issued a response saying it was devastated by the news and offering support for survivors. “We carry our own memories of the person we knew. Someone whose life included work and contributions that matter deeply to many people,” the family said. The César Chavez Foundation also pledged support for victims, saying in a statement that it is committed to “restorative justice and healing” and that, with the family’s support, the organization will “figure out its identity going forward.”
The reactions extended quickly into public commemoration. Streets, schools and parks across the Southwest bear Chavez’s name, and California became the first state to commemorate his birthday. In addition, the Associated Press report said President Barack Obama proclaimed March 31 as national César Chavez Day in 2014. The report also said Biden had installed a bronze bust of Chavez in the Oval Office after taking office, and that neither Obama nor Biden had commented on the allegations.
Several events tied to Chavez were canceled in the days leading up to the disclosures, including celebrations that local organizers canceled at the request of the César Chavez Foundation in San Francisco, Texas and Arizona. Organizers of those canceled events did not immediately respond to requests for comment from the Associated Press, the report said.
Governors and lawmakers signaled possible changes. Republican Texas Gov. Greg Abbott said Texas will not observe the César Chavez Day holiday and that he would urge the state Legislature to remove it altogether. California Gov. Gavin Newsom said he was still processing the news and did not commit to changing the state holiday, saying the farmworker movement was “much more than Chavez” and that it is “about labor… about social justice, economic justice, racial justice.”
Arizona Gov. Katie Hobbs’s office said she has declined to recognize March 31 as César Chavez Day in the two prior years, and the report said the day is not a state holiday in Arizona. It also said the Phoenix City Council is scheduled to vote next week on whether to rename the March 31 holiday and whether to change buildings and city streets that bear Chavez’s name, with the mayor and two council members supporting “Farmworkers Day.” Albuquerque Mayor Tim Keller ordered a review of how Chavez is recognized across the city, and U.S. Sen. Ben Ray Luján said: “His name should be removed from landmarks, institutions and honors.”
Other organizations and elected officials also reacted, while emphasizing the movement’s continuity. The report said the civil rights group League of United Latin American Citizens condemned sexual violence and stated that “no individual, regardless of statue or legacy is above accountability.” Voto Latino said Chavez’s actions are inexcusable, but also warned that the news does not erase the work done by others, citing those who organized, marched and sacrificed alongside farmworkers.
The United Farm Workers union distanced itself from annual celebrations of Chavez, calling the allegations troubling. In a statement Tuesday, the union said allegations of “abuse of young women or minors” were concerning enough that it urged people around the country to participate in immigration justice events or acts of service instead of the typical events held in March to commemorate Chavez’s legacy.