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WARNING: This article contains details of sexual abuse and may affect those who have experienced sexual violence or know someone affected by it.
Civil rights leader Dolores Huerta, who co-founded the United Farm Workers (UFW) union with Cesar Chavez and fought alongside him for decades to expand labour rights in the U.S., on Wednesday accused Chavez of sexually assaulting her in the 1960s.
Huerta said in a statement that she was sharing her story in light of a multi-year New York Times investigation, also published on Wednesday, that detailed a larger pattern of sexual misconduct allegations against Chavez, who died in 1993 at the age of 66, including testimonies by women who said he molested and raped them when they were minors.
“I carried this secret for as long as I did because building the movement and securing farm worker rights was life’s work,” Huerta, 96, said in the statement, explaining why she had not publicly spoken of what happened earlier. “The formation of a union was the only vehicle to accomplish and secure those rights and I wasn’t going to let Cesar or anyone else get in the way.”
Huerta said she did not know that Chavez hurt other women, and she condemned his actions but reminded readers that the farm worker movement is bigger than one person. “Cesar’s actions do not reflect the values of our community and our movement.”
Chavez family reacts
The Chavez family did not dispute the allegations and said it was devastated by the New York Times article. “We wish peace and healing to the survivors and commend their courage to come forward,” the family said in a statement that referred to Chavez as “our father.”
The statement was published on social media by the National Chavez Center, which is dedicated to preserving his legacy and run by Andres Chavez, one of his grandchildren.
“We carry our own memories of the person we knew. Someone whose life included work and contributions that matter deeply to many people,” the Chavez family said.
The accusations detailed in the Times investigation have prompted the UFW to cancel planned celebrations of Chavez, and some cities have cancelled or renamed activities that had been organized in honour of the labour organizer. March 31, his birthday, is a federal commemorative holiday in the U.S., marked in several states with marches, service projects and educational programs.
Prominent U.S. Latino groups swiftly condemned Chavez on Wednesday. The Congressional Hispanic Caucus said in a statement it would support “renaming streets, post offices, vessels, and holidays that bear Chavez’s name to instead honour our community and the farm workers whose struggle defined the movement.”
Voto Latino, a Latino voter advocacy group, said in a statement that Chavez’s “heinous actions cannot and must not erase the work of the thousands of women, men and families who built the farm worker movement.”
Chavez gained international prominence with boycotts and fasts for higher wages and better conditions for migrant workers who picked grapes and performed other agricultural labour.
Movement ‘bigger than one man’: Newsom
Huerta said she had two sexual encounters with Chavez in the 1960s. The first time, she said she was “manipulated and pressured” into having sex with him and “didn’t feel I could say no because he was someone that I admired, my boss and the leader of the movement.”
The second time, Huerta said, she was forced to have sex with him “against my will, and in an environment where I felt trapped.” Both encounters resulted in pregnancies that Huerta chose to keep secret, arranging for the children to be raised by other families.
The Cesar Chavez Foundation, which preserves memorials, including his California gravesite, said it would work with the UFW to create confidential channels for those who may have been harmed by Chavez to share their experiences and seek support.
California Gov. Gavin Newsom on Wednesday said he’s still “processing” the news and urged for more reflection. The Democratic governor wouldn’t commit to making any changes to the state holiday at the end of the month.
The farmworker movement “was much bigger than one man,” Newsom said at an unrelated news conference. “It’s about labour. It’s about social justice, economic justice, racial justice,” he said.
If you’re in immediate danger or fear for your safety or that of others around you, please call 911. For support in your area, you can look for crisis lines and local services via the Ending Sexual Violence Association of Canada database.