{"id":224602,"date":"2026-03-18T01:58:08","date_gmt":"2026-03-18T01:58:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/224602\/"},"modified":"2026-03-18T01:58:08","modified_gmt":"2026-03-18T01:58:08","slug":"fresno-unified-pulls-out-of-cesar-chavez-celebration","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/224602\/","title":{"rendered":"Fresno Unified pulls out of C\u00e9sar Ch\u00e1vez celebration"},"content":{"rendered":"

An event in Fresno to honor C\u00e9sar Ch\u00e1vez<\/a> has been cancelled after the emergence of \u201ctroubling allegations\u201d against the late labor leader.<\/p>\n

The San Antonio Express-News reported<\/a> Tuesday morning that Ch\u00e1vez allegedly engaged in inappropriate sexual relationships with women and at least one minor. The publication cited statements and interviews with a former United Farm Workers insider and a historian who has studied the Hispanic labor movement.<\/p>\n

Hours after the Express-News story\u2019s publication, the Fresno-based Latino Education Issues Roundtable board announced it would not hold a \u201cLegacy Celebration\u201d honoring Ch\u00e1vez on Wednesday, as planned, \u201cdue to recent allegations and the withdrawal of several key partners.\u201d<\/p>\n

Nationwide, celebrations honoring the United Farm Workers\u2019 cofounder have been canceled in light of the allegations, the LA Times reported<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Among the partners that pulled out of the event was Fresno Unified School District, the third-largest school district in the state.<\/p>\n

\u201cFresno Unified will not participate in the C\u00e9sar Ch\u00e1vez celebration planned for Wednesday, March 18 at the Warnors Theatre,\u201d the district said in a statement Tuesday afternoon. \u201cDue to recent allegations about C\u00e9sar Ch\u00e1vez, district officials have determined that students and staff will not be part of the program or the march afterward to the C\u00e9sar Ch\u00e1vez Adult Education Center.\u201d<\/p>\n

C\u00e9sar Ch\u00e1vez Day, a state holiday, is celebrated March 31. Other local events took place over the weekend in downtown Fresno<\/a> and at Fresno State.<\/p>\n

An annual \u201c<\/a>C\u00e9sar Ch\u00e1vez Memorial Breakfast\u201d held by the Binational of California<\/a> nonprofit<\/a> was cancelled by the board Tuesday afternoon due to the allegations, said Ricardo Castorena, CEO of Binational of Central California.<\/p>\n

Castorena, said the event has long honored farmworkers and served as a fundraiser for the organization\u2019s food pantry, which primarily serves farmworking families in the Valley.<\/p>\n

\u201cAs far as the allegations, if the allegations are even true, I\u2019m extremely disappointed, especially because coming from a farm working family,\u201d Castorena said.<\/p>\n

Fresno State officials are aware of the recent reports and are \u201cclosely monitoring developments.\u201d The university has a statue of Ch\u00e1vez in its Peace Garden.<\/p>\n

\u201cOur university recognizes the enduring impact of the farmworker movement in the Central Valley and its significance in advancing labor rights, dignity and opportunity for generations of workers,\u201d the university said in a statement.<\/p>\n

C\u00e9sar Ch\u00e1vez event cancelled following allegations<\/p>\n

Wednesday\u2019s Ch\u00e1vez event was scheduled to include Fresno Unified student performances, speakers and recognition of a speech and essay contest.<\/p>\n

Speakers included Fresno Unified Superintendent Misty Her and Andr\u00e9s Ch\u00e1vez, executive director of the National Ch\u00e1vez Center and grandson of the civil rights leader. Following the program, students would have marched to the eponymous adult education center for a garlanding ceremony at the Ch\u00e1vez bust.<\/p>\n

In a statement Tuesday, the UFW didn\u2019t detail the specifics of the allegations, but said the UFW would not be taking part in any C\u00e9sar Ch\u00e1vez Day activities<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe UFW has learned of deeply troubling allegations that one of the union\u2019s co-founders, C\u00e9sar Ch\u00e1vez, behaved in ways that are incompatible with our organization\u2019s values. Some of the reports are family issues, and not our story to tell or our place to comment on. Far more troubling are allegations involving abuse of young women or minors,\u201d the union said.<\/p>\n

\u201cAllegations that very young women or girls may have been victimized are crushing. We have not received any direct reports, and we do not have any firsthand knowledge of these allegations. However, the allegations are serious enough that we feel compelled to take urgent steps to learn more and provide space for people who may have been victimized to find support and to share their stories if that is what they choose.\u201d The C\u00e9sar Ch\u00e1vez Foundation also issued a statement Tuesday<\/a>, saying it was aware of disturbing allegations of \u201cinappropriate sexual behavior with women and minors during his time as President of the United Farm Workers of America (UFW).\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWe are deeply shocked and saddened by what we are hearing,\u201d the foundation said.<\/p>\n

Fresno honored former labor leader<\/p>\n

Fresno is one of many cities in the central San Joaquin Valley that has long honored the civil rights leader.<\/p>\n

The first meeting site of the National Farm Workers Association, a precursor to the UFW, was at the Edison Social Club in Fresno and is on the Local Register of Historic Resources.<\/a><\/p>\n

In 2024, the city of Fresno renamed a major road after<\/a> Ch\u00e1vez. The city faced opposition from county officials and residents, the latter of whom sued the city over the name change.<\/p>\n

Paul Garcia, a retired educator and outspoken advocate for the renaming of Ventura Avenue to C\u00e9sar Ch\u00e1vez Boulevard, supported moving forward with the Ch\u00e1vez celebrations.<\/p>\n

\u201cThese accusations, that is all they are accusations, are probably unfounded, and until there is evidence they should continue honoring Cesar Ch\u00e1vez legacy,\u201d Garcia said.<\/p>\n

\u201cCh\u00e1vez is well known for his work across the country to support and aid farmworkers. He was monitored by the FBI, he was called a communist, his life was threatened, this is just another episode of someone trying to degrade his reputation and his legacy will continue as it has already,\u201d Garcia said.<\/p>\n

Ch\u00e1vez rose to prominence during the mid-1960s by organizing agricultural workers in the central San Joaquin Valley who were subject to substandard wages and living conditions.<\/p>\n

He motivated farmworkers to strike, boycott and lobby for better working conditions<\/a>. He is credited for galvanizing a boycott of non-union grapes as well as a national lettuce boycott. On March 17, 1966, he led 75 Latino and Filipino grape workers on a 340-mile march from Delano to Sacramento to protest years of poor pay and working conditions.<\/a><\/p>\n

But his legacy has long been fraught with criticism over his stance on illegal immigration<\/a> and his \u201cparanoid\u201d and \u201cdictatorial\u201d approach to leadership, as reported by biographer Miriam Pawel<\/a>. \u201cToday\u2019s UFW is a modern and progressive labor union and we will seek to learn from our history,\u201d the UFW said in a statement.<\/p>\n

This story was originally published March 17, 2026 at 3:29 PM.<\/p>\n


\n \"Profile
\n <\/a><\/p>\n

Mar\u00eda G. Ortiz-Briones<\/a><\/p>\n

The Fresno Bee<\/p>\n

Mar\u00eda G. Ortiz-Briones is a reporter and photographer for McClatchy\u2019s Vida en el Valle publication. She covers issues that impact the Latino community in the Central Valley. She is a regular contributor to La Abeja, The Bee\u2019s free weekly newsletter on Latino issues. | Mar\u00eda G. Ortiz-Briones es reportera y fot\u00f3grafa de la publicaci\u00f3n Vida en el Valle de McClatchy. Ella cubre temas que impactan a la comunidad latina en el Valle Central. Es colaboradora habitual de La Abeja, el bolet\u00edn semanal gratuito de The Bee sobre temas latinos.
\n Support my work with a digital subscription<\/a><\/p>\n


\n \"Profile
\n <\/a><\/p>\n

Melissa Montalvo<\/a><\/p>\n

The Fresno Bee<\/p>\n

Melissa Montalvo is The Fresno Bee\u2019s accountability reporter. Prior to this role, she covered Latino communities for The Fresno Bee as the part of the Central Valley News Collaborative. She also reported on labor, economy and poverty through newsroom partnerships between The Fresno Bee, Fresnoland and CalMatters as a Report for America Corps member.\n <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"An event in Fresno to honor C\u00e9sar Ch\u00e1vez has been cancelled after the emergence of \u201ctroubling allegations\u201d against…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":224603,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[31],"tags":[102265,102337,112,102335,114,102336,113],"class_list":["post-224602","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-fresno","tag-cesar-chavez-allegations","tag-cesar-chavez-day","tag-fresno","tag-fresno-event-cancellation","tag-fresno-headlines","tag-fresno-latino-education-issues-roundtable","tag-fresno-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/224602","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=224602"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/224602\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/224603"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=224602"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=224602"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=224602"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}