Several politicians and local leaders across Southern California are reacting to allegations of sexual abuse against renowned labor leader Cesar Chavez, who died in 1993.

An investigation published by The New York Times on Wednesday details allegations that Chavez raped and abused women and girls, including accounts from two women who allege that the acclaimed civil rights leader sexually abused them when they were children in the 1970s. Dolores Huerta, 95, who co-founded a labor organization with Chavez that would later merge with United Farm Workers, has also alleged she was assaulted by Chavez in the 1960s.

“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,” Huerta wrote in a statement. “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.”

The Times says reporters who worked on the story interviewed more than 60 people, including some of Chavez’s relatives and aides, as well as reviewed emails, union records and photographs that corroborated the allegations. Some of the people included in the investigation rejected the claims made against Chavez. 

Fallout from the allegations was quickly felt among politicians and local leaders. Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass said that the alleged abuse the women endured “is not isolated, nor is it of the past.”

“I am keeping Dolores Huerta, Ana Murguia, and Debra Rojas in my heart, and I honor their strength and that of every woman and girl horrifically harmed by those in power,” Bass said.

She continued by saying that the allegations of abuse against Chavez do not diminish the work of farm workers who fight for their rights, equality for Latinos and for a strong nation for everyone.  

LA County Supervisor Janice Hahn said she was “horrified” by the allegations of abuse and called the news “heartbreaking.”

“I am horrified by the abuse that we now know Dolores Huerta and other women suffered, but I’m moved by their incredible courage in telling their stories publicly all these years later,” Hahn’s statement said.

She added that she feels it’s time to change the name of Cesar Chavez Day, which is celebrated as a formal holiday on March 31 in California, Arizona, Washington and Utah.

“I think it’s time to change the name of our March public holiday to ‘Farmworker Day’ in Los Angeles County,” Hahn said.

Chavez was a prominent Mexican American civil rights leader and activist who used boycotts, fasts and nonviolent strikes to fight for better pay and conditions for farmworkers. He was posthumously awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 1994 by former President Bill Clinton. In 2021, when former President Joe Biden took office, he had a bronze bust of Chavez placed in the Oval Office.  

At an event on Wednesday morning, California Gov. Gavin Newsom was asked by reporters about the allegations and he said he is still trying to absorb the news. Newsom mentioned that he and First Partner Jennifer Siebel Newsom have known Huerta for decades and they did not know about her story. 

Newsom was also asked if he’d consider changing the name of Cesar Chavez Day and he said he would consider it. 

A day before the Times’ investigation was published, the UFW acknowledged reports of allegations against him, calling the reports involving possible abuse of young women and minors “crushing.”

The UFW also noted that it would not be taking part in any of the upcoming Cesar Chavez Day activities. 

The Cesar Chavez Foundation also released a statement on Tuesday saying it was aware of the “disturbing” allegations that Chavez “engaged in inappropriate sexual behavior with women and minors during his time as President of the United Farm Workers of America (UFW).”

“We are deeply shocked and saddened by what we are hearing,” the statement said. “The Foundation is working with leaders in the Farmworker Movement to be responsive to these allegations, support the people who may have been harmed by his actions, and ensure we are united and guided by our commitment to justice and community empowerment.”