Two women told the Times that Chavez sexually abused them over a five-year period in the 1970s, beginning when they were 12 and 13.<\/p>\n
Huerta, 95, said that she had two nonconsensual \u201csexual encounters\u201d with him in the 1960s, including one where she was \u201cmanipulated and pressured\u201d and another where she was \u201cforced against my will.\u201d Both ended in pregnancies, which she said she concealed by wearing baggy clothes and ponchos.<\/p>\n
Huerta said that she arranged for the two children she had as a result of the assaults to be raised by other families and that no one knew the truth about how they were conceived \u201cuntil just a few weeks ago.\u201d<\/p>\n
Why Huerta says she kept it a secret for so long![\"Dolores](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/3ff8ac1f-9bae-4d70-b99c-22ca5284f4d0.jpeg\"\/)
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Dolores Huerta at an event in New York in 2022.<\/p>\n
(ASSOCIATED PRESS)<\/p>\n
In a statement<\/a> released after the Times story was published, Huerta said she kept the alleged assaults secret \u201cbecause I believed that exposing the truth would hurt the farmworker movement I have spent my entire life fighting for.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cI carried this secret for as long as I did because building the movement and securing farmworker rights was my life\u2019s work,\u201d Huerta said. \u201cThe formation of a union was the only vehicle to accomplish and secure those rights, and I wasn\u2019t going to let Cesar or anyone else get in the way.\u201d<\/p>\n Chavez, Huerta and Gilbert Padilla founded the National Farm Workers Association, which later became the United Farm Workers of America, in 1962.<\/p>\n “The farmworker movement has always been bigger and far more important than any one individual,” Huerta said. “Cesar\u2019s 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.”<\/p>\n Huerta said she never considered herself a victim until now and was unaware of the abuse others allegedly experienced before the Times expos\u00e9.<\/p>\n \u201cThe knowledge that he hurt young girls sickens me,\u201d she said. \u201cMy heart aches for everyone who suffered alone and in silence for years.\u201d<\/p>\n The fallout Workers remove the bust of Cesar Chavez at a park bearing his name in Denver on March 19.<\/p>\n (AAron Ontiveroz via Getty Images)<\/p>\n Several states \u2014 including California, Colorado, Minnesota, Texas, Utah and Washington \u2014 recognize March 31, Chavez’s birthday, as an annual holiday. Dozens of schools, streets and municipal buildings across the United States, including many in the Southwest, bear his name.<\/p>\n In Arizona, where Chavez was born, Gov. Katie Hobbs announced last Wednesday that the state will not recognize Cesar Chavez Day this year, saying she was \u201cdeeply concerned by the troubling allegations.\u201d (Cesar Chavez Day isn\u2019t a formal state holiday in Arizona, but it is considered one in several cities there.)<\/p>\n Texas Gov. Greg Abbott said that his state would not recognize the holiday this year and would work with the state legislature to remove it altogether.<\/p>\n “Reports of the horrific and widely acknowledged sexual assault allegations against Cesar Chavez rightfully dismantle the myth of this progressive hero and undermine the narrative that elevated Chavez as a figure worthy of official state celebration,” Abbott said in a statement<\/a>.<\/p>\n California Gov. Gavin Newsom speaks during a press conference in San Lorenzo, Calif., on March 18.<\/p>\n (Anadolu via Getty Images)<\/p>\n California Gov. Gavin Newsom said last week that he was still \u201cprocessing\u201d the news and would not commit to making any changes to the state holiday but was \u201copen\u201d to the idea.<\/p>\n In 2000, California became the first state to designate Chavez\u2019s birthday as a paid holiday for state employees.<\/p>\n Leaders of California’s state legislature announced last Thursday<\/a> that they intended to rename Cesar Chavez Day as Farmworkers Day in light of the allegations.<\/p>\n In Dallas, city council members want to rename the holiday \u201cDolores Huerta Day\u201d and move it to April 10, her birthday.<\/p>\n In Denver, a bust of Chavez was removed from a city park named after him. And Denver Mayor Mike Johnston announced the renaming of Cesar Chavez Day to Si Se Puede Day. Huerta coined the phrase, \u201cS\u00ed, se puede,\u201d loosely translated as \u201cYes, we can,\u201d as the union\u2019s rallying cry.<\/p>\n Rep. Tim Burchett of Tennessee also urged Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth to rename the USNS Cesar Chavez, a Navy supply ship named after the labor leader. A Pentagon spokesperson responded<\/a> on social media: “We are on it.”<\/p>\n Statues of Chavez have been taken down or boxed up in cities across the country this week, including in Milwaukee, Fresno, San Fernando and Dallas. Workers covered<\/a> a well-known mural of Chavez at Santa Ana College in California. In Los Angeles, school board members moved<\/a> to rename a local elementary school that bears his name.<\/p>\n The reaction from other U.S. lawmakers A worker covers a mural depicting Cesar Chavez at Santa Ana College in Santa Ana, Calif., on March 19.<\/p>\n (ASSOCIATED PRESS)<\/p>\n Sen. Alex Padilla, a Democrat from California and the state\u2019s first Latino elected<\/a> to the U.S. Senate, condemned the \u201cabhorrent actions\u201d described by Chavez\u2019s alleged victims.<\/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<\/a>. \u201cConfronting painful truths and ensuring accountability is essential to honoring the very values the greater farm worker movement stands for \u2014 values rooted in dignity and justice for all.\u201d<\/p>\n Rep. Adelita Grijalva, a Democrat from Arizona, acknowledged that \u201cthere is a profound sense of grief in our community today that may bring mixed emotions.\u201d<\/p>\n A street named after Cesar Chavez is seen in downtown Los Angeles on March 18.<\/p>\n (REUTERS \/ Reuters)<\/p>\n \u201cThe betrayal of trust by a leader who had such a significant impact on our community is difficult to comprehend,\u201d she said in a statement<\/a>. \u201cIt is OK to feel angry, shocked, heartbroken, saddened, confused, and dismayed \u2014 all at the same time. We still have more questions than answers. However, it is important to remember that one person does not define a movement. We, the people, are the movement.\u201d<\/p>\n Chavez was given the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the nation\u2019s highest civilian honor, in 1994.<\/p>\n The Chavez National Monument<\/a>, where Chavez is buried, was established in Keene, Calif., in 2012.<\/p>\n In 2014, then-President Barack Obama signed a proclamation designating March 31 as Cesar Chavez Day.\u00a0It is not a federal holiday, however. It\u2019s a commemorative observance.<\/p>\n UFW, other groups distance themselves Cesar Chavez, during a press conference in 1979,<\/p>\n (Bettmann via Getty Images)<\/p>\n The United Farm Workers union canceled all of its annual celebratory events and distanced itself from its cofounder.<\/p>\n \u201cThe UFW has learned of deeply troubling allegations that one of the union\u2019s co-founders, Cesar Chavez, behaved in ways that are incompatible with our organization\u2019s values,\u201d the union said in a statement<\/a>. \u201cAllegations that very young women or girls may have been victimized are crushing.\u201d<\/p>\n The union said it had \u201cnot received any direct reports\u201d nor had \u201cany firsthand knowledge\u201d of the claims against Chavez.<\/p>\n \u201cHowever, 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 it said.<\/p>\n Dolores Huerta and Cesar Chavez lead a protest in Fresno, Calif., in 1989.<\/p>\n (Fresno Bee via Getty Images)<\/p>\n The Cesar Chavez and United Farm Workers Foundations released similar<\/a> statements<\/a> condemning the alleged abuse.<\/p>\n \u201cThe allegations about abusive behavior by Cesar Chavez go against everything that we stand for,\u201d the UFW Foundation said. \u201cThese disturbing allegations involve inappropriate behavior by Cesar Chavez with young women and minors, they are shocking, indefensible and something we are taking seriously.\u201d<\/p>\n The voter organizing group Voto Latino said Chavez must be held accountable.<\/p>\n \u201cLet us be direct: the alleged sexual abuse of women and minors by Cesar Chavez is indefensible,\u201d the group said in a statement<\/a>. \u201cNo context, no historical framing, and no legacy excuses the abuse of power by someone in a position of authority to exploit women and minors.\u201d<\/p>\n It added: \u201cWe know this news is devastating for our community. For generations, Cesar Chavez has been a symbol of what Latino power could achieve. Reckoning with his actions is painful \u2014 and necessary. True justice requires us to hold the people closest to our movements to the highest standards, not the lowest.\u201d<\/p>\n![\"Workers](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/590511b0-2464-11f1-93f7-2dfa55da935c.jpeg\"\/)
<\/p>\n![\"California](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/49eb0204-caf3-4d63-8fbf-cd63eb57a395.jpeg\"\/)
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<\/p>\n![\"Cesar](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/lead-cesar-chavez.jpg\"\/)
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