Cesar Chavez, civil rights icon, accused of sexually abusing underage girls for years
The United Farm Workers and César Chávez Foundation halted March 31 events following a New York Times probe revealing decades-old sexual abuse allegations against Chávez.
- On Wednesday, Dolores Huerta, labor activist and United Farm Workers co-founder, said Cesar Chavez sexually assaulted her and fathered two children she arranged to be raised by other families.
- The New York Times reported Chavez sexually abused two underage girls between 1972 and 1977, based on interviews with over 60 people, leading UFW and the Cesar Chavez Foundation to skip March 31 events.
- Quoting Huerta directly, 'The second time I was forced, against my will, and in an environment where I felt trapped,' she said, and she arranged for her children to be raised by others.
- The Chavez family said they are 'shocked and saddened' and the organizations are developing a 'safe and confidential process' for support.
- Calls to rename or reframe Chavez Day have emerged amid the revelations, as Los Angeles County considers changing the holiday to 'Farmworker Day' after March 31, 2026.
188 Articles
188 Articles
Cesar Chavez, icon of US labor movement, accused of serial sex abuse: report
US civil rights icon Cesar Chavez, whose decades of campaigning brought lasting changes to workers' rights, is accused of being a serial rapist who abused children and harassed women in the movement he led, a bombshell New York Times investigation…
CHC Calls to Rename Holidays and Landmarks Following Cesar Chavez Sexual Abuse Allegations
United Farm Workers leader Cesar Chavez at a 1979 news conference in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/George Brich)The Congressional Hispanic Caucus on Wednesday said it would work toward renaming federal landmarks and holidays bearing Cesar Chavez’s name, after the late labor-movement icon was accused of sexually abusing minors and women who were part of his activist movement.“While it’s heartbreaking when leaders are exposed as flawed beyond absolution,…
Labor rights leader Dolores Huerta says she was sexually abused by César Chavez
In a statement released Wednesday, Huerta said she stayed silent for 60 years out of concern that her words would hurt the farmworker movement.
Cesar Chavez Is Why We Don't Need Any More Icons
Cesar Chavez en Colegio Cesar Chavez. Photo: MovimientoRecently, a friend asked me why it is we don’t have any clear leaders on the Left anymore, why, especially in this particular time of troubles, we are not seeing a few people elevated to the level of icon, to provide a voice for today’s social justice movements and moral clarity for all. “Where is today’s Martin Luther King, Jr?” more or less.I thought about it for a minute, and eventually l…
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