The Cesar E. Chavez Legacy & Educational Foundation, a longtime San Antonio nonprofit that helped organize the city’s annual Cesar Chavez March for Justice, will shut down following newly surfaced sex abuse allegations about the labor leader.
The group was among the first to cancel its march in Chavez’s name. At the time, city officials said the organization cited “a sensitive matter” but did not provide details for the cancellation.
The decision comes as the New York Times published an investigation on Wednesday detailing allegations that Cesar Chavez groomed girls and sexually abused women, prompting national fallout and renewed scrutiny of his legacy.
Dolores Huerta, Chavez’s longtime organizing partner and co-founder of the United Farm Workers, said Chavez raped and pressured her into sex in the 1960s. Breaking decades of silence, Huerta, 95, said she experienced two sexual encounters with Chavez, describing one as coercive and the other as forced. Both times, she got pregnant.
READ MORE: Dolores Huerta speaks out after reports Cesar Chavez abused her, groomed girls
The local cancellation in early March was part of a broader effort tied to the California-based Cesar Chavez Foundation, which warned San Antonio leaders that negative information about Chavez’s past was expected to be published and could make public celebrations of his legacy inappropriate, according to a source familiar with the discussions.
In its Wednesday statement on social media, the local foundation said its board was “deeply saddened and troubled” by recent information shared by the Cesar Chavez Foundation, the United Farm Workers, Dolores Huerta, and others.
“These reports describe conduct that is profoundly disturbing, indefensible, and that has caused real pain,” the statement said.
The board said it learned of the allegations at the same time as the broader community.
After what it described as careful deliberation, the board decided to shut down the organization, citing its responsibility to uphold its values and avoid further harm.
“This decision reflects our obligation to uphold the values that have guided our work and to ensure we do not contribute to further harming or diminishing the experiences of those who have come forward,” the board said.
The Cesar E. Chavez Legacy & Educational Foundation has operated for more than 30 years as a 501(c)(3) nonprofit and is run entirely by volunteers. Its mission has been to preserve Chavez’s life and legacy through education and community outreach, particularly for young people.
The organization has played a prominent role in San Antonio civic life. It co-sponsored the annual Cesar Chavez March for Justice with the city, an event established in 1997 that grew from fewer than 100 to thousands each year. The march typically included a West Side procession and a community festival at Hemisfair.
Beyond the march, the foundation led several outreach efforts, including the “Yes We CAN” food drive benefiting the San Antonio Food Bank, a scholarship program that has awarded more than $300,000 to local high school seniors, and the Jaime P. Martinez Thanksgiving in the Barrio event, which provides meals to families.
READ MORE: Council members call for renaming César Chávez Boulevard following sexual assault allegations
City officials had budgeted about $200,000 annually for the organization’s work, and the foundation previously said it would return a portion of those funds after canceling the 2026 march.
In its statement, the board said the organization’s work will continue in spirit even as it shuts down.
“We are profoundly grateful to our volunteers, partners, and supporters,” the statement said. “The spirit of La Causa – service, unity, and care for one another – belongs to the community and will endure.”
The foundation’s leaders did not say when the shutdown would take effect or what would happen to the foundation’s remaining programs and assets.
Board member and former San Antonio City Councilman Manny Pelaez said he and other board members empathize with the foundation’s chairman, Ernest J. Martinez.
“Remember that this is an organization that Ernest’s father started and nurtured for decades,” he said. “It was Jaime’s legacy, and Ernest is now having to preside over its dissolution. This is very painful for him and his family. The rest of us are experiencing this moment in a profoundly different way than Ernest.”
He said the allegations have stirred strong emotions locally and nationwide and urged people to respond through service.
“I think a lot of people around the country are feeling pain, anger, betrayal, and surprise,” Pelaez said. “The right way to face this difficult moment is to put those feelings to work.”
He said he is encouraging others to spend what would have been Cesar Chavez Day volunteering in their communities, keeping survivors in mind.
This is a developing story.
This article originally published at San Antonio Cesar Chavez foundation to shut down after sex abuse allegations.