Trigger Warning: Sexual Abuse, Sexual Assault, Sexual Abuse of Minors
In a scathing New York Times investigative report released March 18, one of the most influential Chicano and civil rights activists, Cesar Chavez, was accused of pedophilia, sexual abuse and rape. The report highlights the experience of two women whose abuse by Chavez happened in California when they were 12 and 13 years old girls volunteering and participating in the United Farm Workers (UFW). Their accounts detail being groomed as children, their assault by Chavez, and the way their lives have been impacted by the UFW leader’s actions to this day.
The article also found that Dolores Huerta, co-founder of the United Farmworkers Union, was also allegedly raped by Chavez. In Huerta’s personal statement, she says, “As a young mother in the 1960s, I experienced two separate sexual encounters with Cesar. 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 I admired, my boss, and the leader of the movement I had devoted years of my life to. The second time, I was forced, against my will, and in an environment where I felt trapped.”
According to Huerta, both encounters led to pregnancies and the birth of two children, which she kept secret and for whom she arranged, “to be raised by other families that could give them stable lives.” These shocking and painful revelations come at the heels of the annual nationwide parades and celebrations for Cesar Chavez Day, many of which were suspiciously cancelled prior to the article being made public.
Locally in the Rio Grande Valley (RGV), La Unión del Pueblo Entero (LUPE), initially founded by Cesar Chavez and Dolores Huerta through the Farm Workers Union, is in the midst of reckoning from the revelations. According to a public statement, LUPE is “taking these allegations seriously and are working with the farm worker movement organization to address them.”
The RGV-based organization is “establishing a confidential and independent process” where survivors harmed by Chavez can share their stories and, “if they choose to do so, participate in an accountability and reparations process.”
Community member Angel Robles (she/they) publicly commented on LUPE’s statement, “In regards to the reparations process- creating a victims’ compensation program would be helpful. This org has gained funds through memberships in [Cesar Chavez]’s name, and while I appreciate the work LUPE has done, I stand with survivors of sexual assault and disbanding anything made in their namesake.”
As of now, LUPE has removed mentions of Cesar Chavez from their website and the description of the organization’s history. LUPE has also publicly stated that they will not participate in any Cesar Chavez celebrations. The organization announced a series of in-person community platicas to “openly discuss the emotional impact of knowing both the victim and perpetrator of harm.”
The shocking accounts draw attention to Cesar Chavez’s legacy, which was already riddled with misogyny and acts of discrimination against undocumented immigrants.
Most importantly, this news shines a light on the survivors within movement spaces and reiterates that sexual violence, victimization, and silencing of survivors is not void within the fight for social justice.
Mental health resource links for those who have survived or been impacted by sexual abuse or violence:
Texas Tropical Behavioral Health
1901 S. 24th Ave, Edinburg, TX 78539
(956) 289-7000
511 N. Cynthia St. McAllen, TX 78501
(956) 630-9720
RAINN’s 24/7 National Sexual Assault Hotline
1-800-656-4673
