Allegations of abuse that appear to be part of a larger pattern of sexual misconduct by late labor leader Cesar Chávez were revealed Wednesday in a new investigation by the New York Times.
The newspaper found that Chávez, a California icon, used many of the women who worked and volunteered in his labor rights movement for his own sexual gratification.
Two women — Ana Murguia and Debra Rojas — told the newspaper the labor rights leader sexually abused them for years in the 1970s, beginning when they were 12 or 13 and he was in his 40s.
Chávez’s most prominent female ally in the civil rights movement, Dolores Huerta, also told reporters that he sexually assaulted her, a disclosure she has never before made publicly, the New York Times article said.
“I am nearly 96 years old, and for the last 60 years have kept a secret because I believed that exposing the truth would hurt the farmworker movement I have spent my entire life fighting for,” Huerta said in a statement posted to Instagram and Medium.
Huerta said the two assaults took place in the 1960s, when she was a young mother.
“The first time I was manipulated and pressured into having sex with him, and I didn’t feel I could say no because he was someone that I admired, my boss and the leader of the movement I had already devoted years of my life to. The second time I was forced, against my will, and in an environment where I felt trapped.”
The revelations come one day after the United Farm Workers — the union that Chávez founded — distanced itself from annual celebrations in his honor, days ahead of his March 31 birthday when most events are set to take place. In a statement Tuesday, the group urged people around the country to participate in immigration justice events or acts of service rather than those meant to honor Chávez’s legacy.
“The United Farm Workers will not be taking part in any César Chávez Day activities,” the statement said.
The UFW called the allegations against its founder “deeply troubling and profoundly shocking,” while other organizations outright canceled upcoming celebrations in his name.
Local responses to the allegations were swift.
“Our first concern must be with the survivors who have come forward and those who were unable to do so,” said San Diego Mayor Todd Gloria’s office, calling the allegations “shocking and disturbing.”
“Their courage in speaking out — often at great personal cost — ought to be recognized, respected, and supported.
“The hard-fought progress the farmworker-rights movement has achieved over the past six decades is a collective accomplishment. Generations of organizers and workers have advanced dignity, safety, and fairness in the fields, improving lives across our state and nation. That legacy belongs to the movement and to the people who carried it forward.”
Other officials and organizations released their own statements as the day went on.
The Chicano Park Museum and Cultural Center said in a release that they believe and stand with Dolores Huerta and the other two women who have come forward, describing their stories as “deeply heartbreaking and painful” and calling for accountability for all those who cause harm, regardless of status, legacy, or position of power.
“Acknowledging this truth does not diminish the courage, struggles, accomplishments and collective legacy of farm workers, the Chicano movement or our broader communities,” the statement said. “Our movements and histories remain rooted in our collective power and community spirit.”
“I unequivocally stand with Dolores Huerta and the brave women coming forward to speak their truth,” said San Diego County Supervisor Paloma Aguirre. “It is never too late to speak out, and their courage deserves to be met with respect, support, and accountability.”
In light of these revelations, Aguirre said, she and her team will no longer be honoring Chávez.
“Instead, we will uplift and honor heroes of the farm workers movement, like Dolores Huerta, and the values they have carried forward for decades, including fairness, dignity, and the protection of workers,” the statement said.
“Furthermore, I am calling for Cesar Chavez Day to be officially changed to Dolores Huerta Day.”
Multiple public spaces named after the labor rights leader
Multiple public areas in San Diego, such as parks and schools, are named after Chávez. Some officials, including San Diego Councilmember Vivian Moreno, in a memo to Gloria, called for “all city buildings, roads, holiday, parks, etc, that are named ‘César Chávez'” to be “changed immediately.”
Others say they are considering renaming sites in light of the allegations.
“At this time, the District is reviewing its planned participation in César Chávez Day activities as well as its broader connection to Chávez, including the naming of the César E. Chávez Campus in Barrio Logan,” said a statement from the San Diego Community College District.
“As we assess current and new information, SDCCD will prioritize feedback from our community and upholding our values of safety, dignity, and respect for all.”
“We must center survivors rather than protect the legacy and power of predatory men. To the myriad of survivors in this story and out there: I see you, I believe you,” said California’s First Partner, Jennifer Siebel Newsom.
“I know the cost of speaking out — that it asks everything of you. But your courage and your voices matter. They open the door for so many others to follow suit and tell their stories so that one day soon, we will break this horrific cycle of repetitive abuse by powerful men.”
The California Hispanic Legislative Caucus also issued a statement. “These allegations are not minor,” it said. “They are deeply serious and deserve to be treated as such by every institution connected to his name and legacy. Accountability cannot be set aside in deference to legacy; no historical significance exempts any individual from that standard.”
They called upon officials to “act accordingly.”
Several Cesar Chávez celebrations across the Bay Area, as well as in Texas and Chávez’s home state of Arizona have since been canceled at the request of the foundation.
Sacramento City Council members Caity Maple and Eric Guerra each issued separate statements that supported renaming Cesar Chavez Plaza in Sacramento’s downtown area.
“To prevent further harm, I support renaming Cesar Chavez Plaza, and the city should work with impacted communities to get it right,” Maple wrote in a statement, according to the Sacramento Bee.
Maple, like Guerra, emphasized that the legacy of the United Farm Workers union’s fight for labor rights should endure.
“We must also separate the individual from the movement,” Maple said.
U.S. Sen. Alex Padilla also issued a statement.
“These are heartbreaking, horrific accounts of abuse. I stand with the survivors, commend them for their bravery in sharing their stories, and condemn the abhorrent actions they described. The survivors deserve to be heard. They deserve to be supported. They deserve to be treated with dignity and respect.”
He also reiterated that the fight for labor rights should continue.
“Confronting painful truths and ensuring accountability is essential to honoring the very values the greater farm worker movement stands for — values rooted in dignity and justice for all,” the statement said.
Both the UFW and the Chávez foundation said they will work to establish ways for anyone who allege harm to share experiences confidentially.
“These allegations have been profoundly shocking,” the union statement said. “We need some time to get this right, including to ensure robust, trauma-informed services are available to those who may need it.”
California became the first state to establish March 31 as a day commemorating the labor leader, a decision signed into law in 1994 by former Gov. Pete Wilson. Other states followed. In 2014, President Barack Obama proclaimed March 31 as national Cesar Chávez Day, urging Americans to honor his legacy.
Chávez loomed large over recent history
Chávez is known nationally for his early organizing in the fields, a hunger strike, a grape boycott and eventual victory in getting growers to negotiate with farmworkers for better wages and working conditions.
In 1962, Chávez and Dolores Huerta co-founded the National Farm Workers Association, which became the United Farm Workers of America. Chávez served as UFW president until his death.
Chávez protested against poor pay and often-miserable work conditions for farmworkers in California, which grows nearly half the nation’s fruits, nuts and vegetables. There were no toilets in the fields for workers, and they often worked with short-handled hoes that forced them to bend over for hours at a time.
Many of the workers were Spanish speakers who were in the country temporarily or illegally and had little political or legal clout to prevent abuses. That was when Chávez stepped in to represent them.
In a 1992 appearance in Coachella, Chávez led a caravan that culminated in him comparing the work of those not in the fields with the hard labor of the people for whom he advocated.
“When they come out here and taste the sweat running into their mouths, then they’ll get it,” he told the crowd. “But until that day comes, we’ll have to keep pushing them, until they give in — just like ranchers all across the state have already begun to do.”
Streets, schools and parks, not just in San Diego, but elsewhere in California and across the nation, bear Chávez’s name. Born in Yuma, Arizona, he grew up in a Mexican American family that traveled around California picking lettuce, grapes, cotton and other seasonal crops. He died in California in 1993 at age 66.
Huerta has also posted a list of resources to support sexual abuse survivors to the Dolores Huerta Foundation website at https://doloreshuerta.org/sexual_assault_resources/.
“I will continue my commitments to workers, as well as my commitment to women’s rights, to make sure we have a voice and that our communities are treated with dignity and given the equity that they have so long been denied,” Huerta said in her statement.
“I have kept this secret long enough. My silence ends here.”
Times of San Diego news editor Jennifer Vigil and the Associated Press contributed to this report.
