Leaders in Fresno moved quickly to remove the statue and street signs erected to pay homage to civil rights leader Cesar Chavez after rape allegations came to light Wednesday, but monuments and public buildings up and down the San Joaquin Valley bear his name, as well.
A number of Fresno area and state lawmakers denounced the civil rights leader after stories from the New York Times and Los Angeles Times quoted multiple women who were between 8 and 16 when they said Chavez groomed, groped and raped them.
Among the accusers was civil rights icon Dolores Huerta, who said she was an adult when she was coerced into sex with him and carried two children by him. The children were hidden and raised by others, she said in a statement Wednesday.
While local Fresno city, Fresno County and state leaders like Gov. Gavin Newsom said they supported the survivors in the news stories, they stressed the farmworker movement was greater than one man.
Fresno State President Saúl Jiménez-Sandoval said he would move to have the statue of Chavez removed from the Peace Garden, where it has stood since 1996.
Multiple members of the Fresno City Council said they would support removing Chavez from the 10-mile boulevard that cuts through downtown. The signs went up in 2024, but local leaders said it was a 30-year effort.
Cesar Chavez is featured on one of the murals at Edison High School. Photographed Wednesday, July 12, 2023 in Fresno. Fresno
Some Sacramento leaders also have voiced intent to change names there, but Chavez has a significant foothold on markers in the Valley and state. It’s also common to see his face on less-permanent markers, like painted murals at schools or public places.
The city of Bakersfield said Wednesday they would terminate plans to put his name on a street. There are also eponymous streets in San Francisco and Los Angeles.
Here are some of the most prominent schools, parks, statues and others markers that carry the name of the venerated civil rights leader whose public legacy appears to be changing in real time:
The statue of Cesar Chavez located in Fresno State’s Peace Garden was covered up following allegations that he sexually abused women and girls. Fresno State says the statue will eventually come down. Nick Fenley 
Arte Américas executive director Arianna Paz Chávez and her mother, Lilia Gonzales-Chávez, take a selfie during the celebration of the renaming of Kings Canyon and two other streets in honor of farmworker icon César E. Chávez. The celebration took place at the Fresno fairgrounds on June 10, 2023. JUAN ESPARZA LOERA 
Julie Chávez RodrÃguez, granddaughter of civil rights leader César E. Chávez, and Fresno State emeritus faculty member Dr. Sudarshan Kapoor, place a garland around the statue of Chávez in the Peace Garden at Fresno State in 2018. CRAIG KOHLRUSS Fresno Bee file
This story was originally published March 18, 2026 at 3:49 PM.
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Reporter Thaddeus Miller has covered cities in the central San Joaquin Valley since 2010, writing about everything from breaking news to government and police accountability. A native of Fresno, he joined The Fresno Bee in 2019 after time in Merced and Los Banos.