.jpeg "Former educator and civil right activist and labor leader Dolores Huerta joined teachers on May 17 in Hanford, CA in their fight for schools asking U.S. Rep. David Valadao to defend funding for valley schools and urge the Republican congressman to oppose federal cuts to public education.")
Former educator and civil right activist and labor leader Dolores Huerta joined teachers on May 17 in Hanford, CA in their fight for schools asking U.S. Rep. David Valadao to defend funding for valley schools and urge the Republican congressman to oppose federal cuts to public education.
María G. Ortiz-Briones
mortizbriones@fresnobee.com
A deeply reported New York Times investigation revealed instances of Cesar Chavez, the charismatic co-founder of United Farm Workers, grooming and sexually abusing minor girls who worked in the labor movement, often referred to as La Causa.
After the Times piece was published, Dolores Huerta, a cofounder of the union with Chavez, released a statement Wednesday accusing Chavez of twice raping her and explaining reasons behind her decades of silence.
Her statement was posted on the Dolores Huerta Foundation for Community Organizing. The Fresno Bee is republishing it here:
“I am nearly 96 years old, and for the last 60 years have kept a secret because I believed that exposing the truth would hurt the farmworker movement I have spent my entire life fighting for.
I have encouraged people to always use their voice. Following the New York Times’ multi-year investigation into sexual misconduct by Cesar Chavez, I can no longer stay silent and must share my own experiences.
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 that I admired, my boss and the leader of the movement I had already devoted years of my life to. The second time I was forced, against my will, and in an environment where I felt trapped.
I had experienced abuse and sexual violence before, and I convinced myself these were incidents that I had to endure alone and in secret. Both sexual encounters with Cesar led to pregnancies. I chose to keep my pregnancies secret and, after the children were born, I arranged for them to be raised by other families that could give them stable lives.
Over the years, I have been fortunate to develop a deep relationship with these children, who are now close to my other children, their siblings. But even then, no one knew the full truth about how they were conceived until just a few weeks ago.
I carried this secret for as long as I did because building the movement and securing farmworker rights was my life’s work. 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. I channeled everything I had into advocating on behalf of millions of farmworkers and others who were suffering and deserved equal rights.
I have never identified myself as a victim, but I now understand that I am a survivor — of violence, of sexual abuse, of domineering men who saw me, and other women, as property, or things to control.
I am telling my story because the New York Times has indicated that I was not the only one — there were others. Women are coming forward, sharing that they were sexually abused and assaulted by Cesar when they were girls and teenagers.
The knowledge that he hurt young girls sickens me. My heart aches for everyone who suffered alone and in silence for years. There are no words strong enough to condemn those deplorable actions that he did. Cesar’s actions do not reflect the values of our community and our movement.
The farmworker movement has always been bigger and far more important than any one individual. Cesar’s actions do not diminish the permanent improvements achieved for farmworkers with the help of thousands of people. We must continue to engage and support our community, which needs advocacy and activism now more than ever.
I will continue my commitments to workers, as well as my commitment to women’s rights, to make sure we have a voice and that our communities are treated with dignity and given the equity that they have so long been denied.
I have kept this secret long enough. My silence ends here.”
If you are a survivor or if you have been impacted by any type of sexual violence, please visit the Dolores Huerta Foundation website, where you will find a list of resources for support.
This story was originally published March 21, 2026 at 11:47 AM.
.jpg)
The Fresno Bee
Christopher Kirkpatrick is senior editor of The Fresno Bee and Vida en el Valle.