California Museum plans to remove César Chávez from California Hall of Fame
WHAT THE VICE PRESIDENT IS NOW SAYING ABOUT THE INCREASE. WE BEGIN AT 4:00 WITH THE ALLEGATIONS AGAINST CESAR CHAVEZ TODAY. LABOR RIGHTS ACTIVIST DOLORES HUERTA SAYS SHE WAS AMONG THE WOMEN AND GIRLS WHO WERE SEXUALLY ABUSED BY HIM NOW. CHAVEZ DIED THREE DECADES AGO, AND NOW ANNUAL CELEBRATIONS HONORING HIM ARE CANCELED. THERE ARE CALLS TO CHANGE THE NAMES OF PARKS, STREETS AND MEMORIALS, AND THAT INCLUDES SACRAMENTO CESAR CHAVEZ PLAZA AND CENTRAL VALLEY. ASSEMBLYWOMAN ALEXANDRA MACEDO IS PROPOSING TO RENAME CESAR CHAVEZ DAY TO BE FARMWORKER DAY. GOVERNOR GAVIN NEWSOM SAYS HE IS ALSO OPEN TO RENAMING THE DAY. THE STATE HOLIDAY HAS BEEN MARKED ON MARCH 31ST SINCE 2000. THE GOVERNOR ALSO SAID HE AND THE FIRST PARTNER ARE VERY CLOSE WITH HUERTA, AND NONE OF THEM KNEW. THE REVELATIONS CAME TO LIGHT IN A NEW YORK TIMES INVESTIGATION. KCRA 3’S ANDREA FLORES IS HERE WITH WHAT DOLORES HUERTA IS NOW SAYING. DOLORES HUERTA SAYS SHE STAYED SILENT FOR 60 YEARS OUT OF CONCERN HER WORDS WOULD HURT THE FARM WORKER MOVEMENT. BUT TODAY SHE’S DETAILING THE ABUSE SHE FACED AT THE HANDS OF THE LATE LABOR LEADER. NOW, THE STUNNING ALLEGATIONS AGAINST, SAYS CHAVEZ CAME TO LIGHT THIS WEEK. THE NEW YORK TIMES TALKED TO MORE THAN 60 PEOPLE AND USED UNION RECORDS, EMAILS AND OTHER DOCUMENTS TO CORROBORATE ASPECTS OF THOSE ACCOUNTS. THE TIMES SPOKE WITH TWO WOMEN WHO SAY CHAVEZ SEXUALLY ABUSED THEM IN THE 1970S, WHEN THEY WERE UNDERAGE GIRLS, AND CHAVEZ WAS IN HIS 40S. HUERTA SAYS SHE WAS IN HER 30S AT THE TIME. SHE AND CHAVEZ HAD TWO SEXUAL ENCOUNTERS. BOTH OF THOSE ENCOUNTERS LED TO PREGNANCIES, WHICH SHE KEPT SECRET. SHE THEN ARRANGED FOR THE TWO CHILDREN TO BE RAISED BY OTHER FAMILIES. GOVERNOR GAVIN NEWSOM SPOKE ABOUT THIS EARLIER TODAY. IT’S BEEN HARD TO ABSORB THIS. YOU KNOW, JEN AND I ARE VERY CLOSE WITH DOLORES. SO MANY OF US ARE, BUT VERY CLOSE HAVE BEEN FOR DECADES AND DECADES. AND NONE OF US KNEW. WE’RE JUST GOING TO HAVE TO REFLECT ON ALL OF THAT AND, YOU KNOW, REFLECT ON A FARM WORKERS MOVEMENT AND A LABOR MOVEMENT THAT WAS MUCH BIGGER THAN ONE MAN. WE’RE ALSO HEARING REACTION FROM OTHER LEADERS. CALIFORNIA SENATOR ALEX PADILLA RELEASED A STATEMENT SAYING, QUOTE, THERE MUST BE ZERO TOLERANCE FOR ABUSE, EXPLOITATION AND THE SILENCING OF VICTIMS NO MATTER WHO IS INVOLVED. THE CO-CHAIRS OF THE CALIFORNIA HISPANIC LEGISLATIVE CAUCUS ALSO ISSUED A STATEMENT SAYING, QUOTE, THESE ALLEGATIONS ARE NOT MINOR. THEY ARE DEEPLY SERIOUS AND DESERVE TO BE TREATED AS SUCH BY EVERY INSTITUTION CONNECTED TO HIS NAME AND LEGACY. THE LEAGUE OF UNITED LATIN AMERICAN CITIZENS SAYS IN PART, THAT THEY UNEQUIVOCALLY CONDEMN ANY FORM OF SEXUAL VIOLENCE AGAINST WOMEN AND MINORS, AND STRONGLY DENOUNCE THE ACTIONS ALLEGED INVOLVING THE LATE CESAR CHAVEZ. NOW, THE CHAVEZ FAMILY SAYS THEY HONOR THE VOICES OF THOSE WHO FEEL UNHEARD AND WHO REPORT SEXUAL MISCONDUCT. THIS IS CHAVEZ FOUNDATION SAYS IT IS NOW WORKING WITH LEADERS IN THE FARMWORKER MOVEMENT TO BE RESPONSIVE TO THOSE ALLEGATIONS AND SUPPORT PEOPLE WHO MAY HAVE BEEN HARMED BY CESAR CHAVEZ’S ACTIONS. ALL RIGHT. THANK YOU. SCHOOLS, STREETS AND PARKS, THEY ALL BEAR CESAR CHAVEZ’S NAME. AND IN THE CITY OF SACRAMENTO, LOCAL LEADERS ARE ALREADY TALKING ABOUT CHANGING THE NAME OF CESAR CHAVEZ PLAZA. KCRA 3’S MARICELA DE LA CRUZ JOINS US LIVE FROM THERE. IT’S A VERY POPULAR PLACE. MARICELA. YEAH. LISA CURTIS, THIS IS A PLACE THAT HAS FOR A LONG TIME BEEN A GATHERING PLACE FOR THE COMMUNITY. WE’VE SEEN DIFFERENT CELEBRATIONS, PUBLIC EVENTS, CONCERTS TAKING PLACE HERE YEARLY. BUT CESAR CHAVEZ PLAZA COULD SOON HAVE A NEW NAME. CITY LEADERS TELLING ME THAT THIS IS A PROCESS THAT TYPICALLY TAKES A FEW MONTHS, BUT THEY’RE HOPING TO FAST TRACK THAT NOW. TODAY, SACRAMENTO CITY MAYOR KEVIN MCCARTY ANNOUNCED A CITY COUNCIL SUBCOMMITTEE TO GUIDE THE RENAMING OF THE PLAZA. THE GROUP INCLUDES VICE MAYOR KARINA TALAMANTES, MAYOR PRO TEM ERIC GUERRA AND COUNCIL MEMBER PHIL BAUM. THEY TELL US RENAMING PUBLIC SPACES CAN OFTEN BE CONTROVERSIAL AND LENGTHY. BUT WITH SEXUAL ABUSE ALLEGATIONS SURROUNDING THE LATE CIVIL RIGHTS LEADERS CHAVEZ, THEY SAY THEY’RE WORKING TO MOVE FAST. WE WANT TO MOVE DELIBERATELY AND HAVE A ROBUST CONVERSATION ABOUT WHAT THE RENAMING COULD BE, BUT I THINK THERE’S PRETTY MUCH UNANIMOUS CONSENT AT THIS POINT THAT WE’RE GOING TO BE SEEKING A NEW NAME. I WORKED IN THE ALMOND ORCHARDS WITH MY DAD AND AND THAT’S, YOU KNOW, UNFORTUNATELY, MY DAD PASSED AWAY BECAUSE OF UNSAFE WORKING CONDITIONS. AND THAT’S WHY THE LABOR MOVEMENT TO ME IS SO PERSONAL TO ME BECAUSE LABOR UNIONS HISTORICALLY HAVE FOUGHT FOR BETTER WORKING CONDITIONS, BETTER, YOU KNOW, BETTER WAGES, DIGNITY IN THE WORKPLACE. AND THAT IS ONE THING THAT CESAR CHAVEZ IS KNOWN TO HAVE HELPED LEAD THIS ENTIRE MOVEMENT FOR THE FARM WORKERS OF CALIFORNIA. FOR ME, WHAT’S IMPORTANT IS THAT THE CONTRIBUTIONS OF THE LABOR MOVEMENT DO NOT GET LOST. AND WE’RE TOLD THAT PROCESS IS ALREADY UNDERWAY, WITH ONE OF THE FIRST MEETINGS TAKING PLACE THIS EVENING. THAT’S HAPPENING BETWEEN CITY LEADERS AND COMMUNITY ORGANIZATIONS FOR OUR LIVE MARICELA DE LA CRUZ. KCRA 3 NEWS. THANK YOU, MARICELA. RIGHT NOW ON THE KCRA 3 APP AND KCRA.COM, YOU
California Museum plans to remove César Chávez from California Hall of Fame
Updated: 8:31 PM PDT Mar 18, 2026
César Chávez will be removed from the California Museum’s list of California Hall of Fame inductees in light of multiple sexual assault allegations made against him. On Tuesday, the United Farm Workers, an organization that the late civil rights leader helped found and lead, denounced Chávez, saying in a statement that it would not participate in César Chávez Day events on March 31 because of his alleged sexual abuse of several women and girls cited in a New York Times investigation. The following day Dolores Huerta, a civil rights leader who co-founded UFW with Chávez, came forward with a statement. Huerta said she had multiple unwanted sexual encounters with Chávez which resulted in two children whom she kept secret for 60 years, along with Chávez’ misconduct in order to not derail the momentum of the farmworkers movement. Read more on Huerta’s statement hereThe California Museum, located in Sacramento, released its own statement on Thursday saying it intends to take action regarding Chávez’ allegations and called this “an unprecedented situation” in the museum’s history. Despite Chávez being a member of the inaugural California Hall of Fame Class in 2006, the California Museum Board of Trustees is working to remove him and establish a new protocol in case it is ever necessary to remove another inductee in the future. “Our hearts go out to the survivors of abusive behavior from this man, whom so many regarded as a hero,” the museum said. “We also still wish to recognize the significant progress that the union achieved under his leadership. It is our hope that the legacy of his efforts continues to improve the lives of farm workers, and that the profound contributions to civil rights by Dolores Huerta, a member of the California Hall of Fame’s 7th class, and Larry Itliong, a member of the 14th class, are never forgotten.”| MORE | Gov. Gavin Newsom says he’s open to renaming César Chávez Day in California after sex abuse allegationsThe response to Chávez’ alleged crimes included a call on leadership in California and across the country to denounce him. Gov. Gavin Newsom said on Wednesday that he is open to renaming César Chávez Day in California. The state holiday has been observed since 2000. See more coverage of top California stories here | Download our app | Subscribe to our morning newsletter | Find us on YouTube here and subscribe to our channel
César Chávez will be removed from the California Museum’s list of California Hall of Fame inductees in light of multiple sexual assault allegations made against him.
On Tuesday, the United Farm Workers, an organization that the late civil rights leader helped found and lead, denounced Chávez, saying in a statement that it would not participate in César Chávez Day events on March 31 because of his alleged sexual abuse of several women and girls cited in a New York Times investigation.
The following day Dolores Huerta, a civil rights leader who co-founded UFW with Chávez, came forward with a statement. Huerta said she had multiple unwanted sexual encounters with Chávez which resulted in two children whom she kept secret for 60 years, along with Chávez’ misconduct in order to not derail the momentum of the farmworkers movement.
The California Museum, located in Sacramento, released its own statement on Thursday saying it intends to take action regarding Chávez’ allegations and called this “an unprecedented situation” in the museum’s history. Despite Chávez being a member of the inaugural California Hall of Fame Class in 2006, the California Museum Board of Trustees is working to remove him and establish a new protocol in case it is ever necessary to remove another inductee in the future.
“Our hearts go out to the survivors of abusive behavior from this man, whom so many regarded as a hero,” the museum said. “We also still wish to recognize the significant progress that the union achieved under his leadership. It is our hope that the legacy of his efforts continues to improve the lives of farm workers, and that the profound contributions to civil rights by Dolores Huerta, a member of the California Hall of Fame’s 7th class, and Larry Itliong, a member of the 14th class, are never forgotten.”
The response to Chávez’ alleged crimes included a call on leadership in California and across the country to denounce him.
Gov. Gavin Newsom said on Wednesday that he is open to renaming César Chávez Day in California. The state holiday has been observed since 2000.
See more coverage of top California stories here | Download our app | Subscribe to our morning newsletter | Find us on YouTube here and subscribe to our channel