The statue of Cesar Chavez located in Fresno State’s Peace Garden was covered up following allegations that he sexual abused women and girls. Fresno State says the statue will eventually come down.
Nick Fenley
Fresno State President Saúl Jiménez-Sandoval said the university will remove its statue of Cesar Chavez, prominently displayed in the campus Peace Garden, amid “profoundly troubling claims” against the civil rights icon emerged Wednesday in a New York Times investigation.
Jiménez-Sandoval said Wednesday afternoon in a letter to the Fresno State community that the statue would soon come down. By late Wednesday morning, hours after the Times report published, the statue had already been covered in a black cloth.
“These profoundly troubling claims about the rape of women and minors call for our full attention and moral reckoning by removing his statue from our campus,” Jiménez-Sandoval said.
The statue was erected in 1996 and currently stands in the Peace Garden, along with other statues memorializing other civil rights such as Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and Nelson Mandela.
This is a developing story. Return to fresnobee.com for updates.