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Farm labor leader Cesar\u00a0Chavez pickets outside the San Diego-area headquarters of Safeway markets in 1973, protesting the arrest of 29 people at a\u00a0Delano (Kern County)\u00a0Safeway. A New York Times investigation published Wednesday includes accusations from two women who said Chavez sexually abused them as children in the 1970s.<\/p>\n
Bettmann\/Getty Images<\/p>\n
As explosive allegations of sexual abuse against\u00a0Cesar Chavez<\/a> surfaced this week, celebrations honoring the labor leader began unraveling across the Bay Area and beyond.\u00a0<\/p>\n The claims, detailed in a New York Times investigation<\/a> published Wednesday, include accusations from two women \u2014 Ana Murguia and Debra Rojas \u2014 who said Chavez sexually abused them as children in the 1970s, while he led\u00a0the United Farm Workers. The women said they were 13 and 15 at the time of the alleged abuse, according to the report.<\/p>\n Article continues below this ad<\/p>\n The women, both now in their 60s, said the abuse occurred between roughly 1972 and 1977, when\u00a0Chavez was in his 40s and at the height of his influence. The Times reported it found evidence supporting their accounts and those of several other women.<\/p>\n Separately, Dolores Huerta, Chavez\u2019s closest collaborator in the farm labor movement, broke decades of silence about her own experiences Wednesday, saying she was also sexually abused by Chavez.\u00a0<\/p>\n San Francisco Chronicle Logo<\/p>\n Make us a Preferred Source to get more of our news when you search.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Add Preferred Source<\/p>\n <\/a><\/p>\n Murguia\u00a0said\u00a0Chavez used the privacy of his California office to repeatedly molest her after gaining her family\u2019s trust. She was 13 at the time, according to the report. She said the trauma led her to attempt suicide multiple times as a teenager.<\/p>\n Article continues below this ad<\/p>\n Cesar\u00a0Chavez is seen with Ana Murgia during the United Farm Workers\u2019\u00a01,000 Mile March in the summer of 1975. Murgia is one of two women who told the Times that Chavez sexually abused them as children in the 1970s, while he led the UFW.\u00a0<\/p>\n Cathy Murphy\/Getty Images<\/p>\n Allegations spark rapid cancellations across California<\/p>\n The United Farm Workers<\/a> announced Tuesday it would not participate in any Cesar Chavez Day<\/a> events on March 31, citing what it called \u201cdeeply troubling allegations\u201d involving \u201cabuse of young women or minors.\u201d<\/p>\n The union said it had not received firsthand reports but called the allegations serious enough to require \u201curgent steps\u201d to learn more and support anyone who may have been harmed.<\/p>\n Article continues below this ad<\/p>\n In a statement released hours before the publication of the Times\u2019 article, the Cesar Chavez Foundation<\/a> said it had learned of \u201cdisturbing allegations\u201d that Chavez \u201cengaged in inappropriate sexual behavior with women and minors.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cWe are deeply shocked and saddened by what we are hearing,\u201d the foundation said.<\/p>\n In San Jose\u00a0\u2014 where Chavez once lived and organized\u00a0\u2014 institutions began pulling back. San Jose State University\u2019s Cesar E. Chavez Community Action Center said it was reevaluating planned events. A long-running Chavez legacy dinner in the city was canceled.<\/p>\n At least four events across California and the Southwest have been canceled or modified, including a march in Tucson, Ariz.,\u00a0 and multiple commemorations tied to Chavez Day, according to organizers.<\/p>\n In San Francisco, organizers said the annual Cesar Chavez Day\u00a0parade<\/a> will go forward on April 11 under a new name \u2014 the Dolores\u00a0Huerta Parade and Festival.<\/p>\n Article continues below this ad<\/p>\n \u201cWe\u2019re doing it for the farmworkers. The farmworkers need our support more than ever,\u201d said organizer Eva Royale.<\/p>\n Families grapple with allegations at S.F. school<\/p>\n The San Francisco Unified School District, which has schools named after Chavez, said it was monitoring the situation.<\/p>\n \u201cSFUSD shares in the community\u2019s concerns regarding the recent allegations involving Cesar Chavez,\u201d spokesperson Laura Dudnick said. \u201cAs these allegations have only just come to light, the district is closely monitoring the situation.\u201d<\/p>\n Outside Cesar Chavez Elementary School on Wednesday, parents and grandparents waiting for dismissal were still absorbing the news, trying to reconcile the allegations with the legacy of a man long celebrated in their community.<\/p>\n Article continues below this ad<\/p>\n George Elias, 37, who was picking up his 7-year-old, said the reports immediately made him wonder whether the school\u2019s name might change.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s a gut punch,\u201d he said. \u201cHe was a leader of the Latin American community.\u201d<\/p>\n Marta Martinez, 55, who was waiting for her granddaughter, said the allegations were difficult to process.<\/p>\n \u201cIt was very ugly,\u201d she said. \u201cI had a good image of him.\u201d<\/p>\n Martinez said the claims could force a broader reckoning.<\/p>\n \u201cI don\u2019t know if it\u2019s true or a lie, but if he didn\u2019t act well, they are going have to make a decision about whether they want to change the name of the school,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n Antonia Zavala, 40, who has two children at the school, said she grew up viewing Chavez as an icon.<\/p>\n \u201cAccording to what I heard, he is a hero, he\u2019s marvelous,\u201d she said.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n She said she hopes there will be a full investigation into the allegations.<\/p>\n \u201cThey ought to get to the bottom of it,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n A mural of Cesar Chavez is seen at the Cesar Chavez Student Center in San Francisco State University. The labor leader died in his sleep in 1993 at age 66.<\/p>\n Stephen Lam\/S.F. Chronicle<\/p>\n San Francisco leaders react as Newsom weighs renaming holiday<\/p>\n San Francisco Mayor Daniel Lurie called the allegations \u201cdeeply disturbing and unacceptable\u201d and said the city was working with community leaders to support those affected.<\/p>\n \u201cIt takes immense bravery to come forward, and my heart goes out to all of the survivors,\u201d Lurie said in a statement<\/a>.<\/p>\n San Francisco Supervisor Jackie Fielder, who represents the Mission District, called the allegations \u201chorrifying\u201d and said she stands with the survivors.<\/p>\n \u201cIt is devastating to think of the decades of pain they endured while the world and our movements unwittingly celebrated their abuser,\u201d she said in a statement Wednesday.<\/p>\n Fielder, whose district includes Cesar Chavez Street and Cesar Chavez Elementary School, said she would support community efforts to rename \u201cany District 9 institutions.\u201d<\/p>\n Supervisor Myrna Melgar urged residents to prioritize those who may have been harmed.<\/p>\n \u201cMy heart is aching and crying,\u201d Melgar wrote on social media Wednesday. \u201cFor all the folks calling for renaming things and cancelling things: let\u2019s center those who are harmed first.\u201d<\/p>\n San Francisco Supervisor Connie Chan echoed that sentiment.<\/p>\n \u201cToo often, these women are not only ignored; they are forced to suffer harassment and abuse in silence,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n Labor leaders also grappled with the moment.<\/p>\n \u201cThese allegations are serious. If harm was done, then we owe the truth to those who were harmed. No exceptions. No excuses,\u201d said Rudy Gonzalez, executive director of the San Francisco Labor Council.<\/p>\n \u201cOur movement has never been about one man,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n U.S. Sen. Alex Padilla, D-Calif., called the allegations \u201cheartbreaking\u201d and \u201chorrific\u201d and said survivors \u201cdeserve to be heard\u201d and supported.<\/p>\n \u201cThere must be zero tolerance for abuse, exploitation, and the silencing of victims, no matter who is involved,\u201d Padilla said in a statement.<\/p>\n Gov. Gavin Newsom said the allegations had been difficult for Californians to process and signaled the state may need time to consider broader implications, including whether to rename Cesar Chavez Day.<\/p>\n \u201cNone of us knew,\u201d Newsom said at a Bay Area news conference<\/a>. \u201cWe\u2019re all absorbing.\u201d<\/p>\n He said Chavez\u2019s legacy is deeply embedded in California, with dozens of schools bearing his name, and called the moment \u201csensitive\u201d as communities grapple with what the allegations may mean.<\/p>\n \u201cWe want to have the backs of our victims,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n Huerta breaks decades of silence<\/p>\n Huerta<\/a>, Chavez\u2019s longtime organizing partner, said Wednesday<\/a> that she, too, had experienced sexual abuse by Chavez and had kept it secret for decades.<\/p>\n \u201cI have never identified myself as a victim, but I now understand that I am a survivor,\u201d said Dolores Huerta, seen here in San Francisco earlier this year.<\/p>\n Yalonda M. James\/S.F. Chronicle<\/p>\n \u201cI can no longer stay silent and must share my own experiences,\u201d\u00a0Huerta said in a lengthy statement published online.\u00a0<\/p>\n She described two encounters in the 1960s, one coercive and one forced.<\/p>\n \u201cThe second time I was forced, against my will, and in an environment where I felt trapped,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n Huerta said both encounters resulted in pregnancies, which she kept secret.<\/p>\n \u201cI have never identified myself as a victim, but I now understand that I am a survivor,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n Dolores Huerta, UFW\u00a0leader, is seen in 1989. She said she also was sexually abused by her colleague Cesar Chavez.<\/p>\n Michael Maloney\/The Chronicle<\/p>\n Alyce McFadden contributed to this report.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Farm labor leader Cesar\u00a0Chavez pickets outside the San Diego-area headquarters of Safeway markets in 1973, protesting the arrest…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":227389,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[30],"tags":[184,7,13,101,103,102,104,106,105],"class_list":["post-227388","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-san-francisco","tag-bay-area","tag-california","tag-politics","tag-san-francisco","tag-san-francisco-headlines","tag-san-francisco-news","tag-sf","tag-sf-headlines","tag-sf-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/227388","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=227388"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/227388\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/227389"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=227388"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=227388"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=227388"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}<\/p>\n
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