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Dolores Huerta speaks at the Department of Labor in 2012 during a presentation honoring the legacy of C\u00e9sar Ch\u00e1vez. Credit: US Department of Labor<\/p>\nDolores Huerta speaks at the Department of Labor in 2012 during a presentation honoring the legacy of C\u00e9sar Ch\u00e1vez. Credit: US Department of Labor<\/p>\n
As sexual abuse allegations<\/a> continue to pile up against late labor leader C\u00e9sar Ch\u00e1vez, some voices online are calling on San Antonio rename the major downtown thoroughfare that bears his name.<\/p>\n On Wednesday, National Farm Workers Association (later United Farm Workers) co-founder Dolores Huerta released a statement<\/a> accusing her longtime collaborator of raping her on two separate occasions, producing two unwanted pregnancies. Her shocking accusation followed acknowledgements Tuesday by the C\u00e9sar Ch\u00e1vez Foundation<\/a>\u00a0and\u00a0United Farm Workers<\/a>\u00a0of \u201cdisturbing\u201d abuse allegations against the famed Chicano leader. <\/p>\n \u201cAs a young mother in the 1960s, I experienced two separate sexual encounters with C\u00e9sar,\u201d Huerta said in her historic Wednesday statement, shared to Facebook and Instagram. \u201cThe first time I was manipulated and pressured into having sex with him, and I didn\u2019t feel I could say no because he was someone that I admired, my boss and the leader of the movement I had already devoted years of my life to. The second time I was forced, against my will, and in an environment where I felt trapped.\u201d<\/p>\n In light of the mounting allegations, some voices online are calling to rename C\u00e9sar Ch\u00e1vez\u00a0 Boulevard, which runs through central San Antonio.<\/p>\n \u201cJoin me in demanding all C\u00e9sar Ch\u00e1vez\u00a0 streets in Bexar County be renamed to honor Dolores Huerta,\u201d Texas State Rep. Josey Garcia, D-San Antonio, said in a Facebook post<\/a>, resharing Huerta\u2019s statement. \u201cWe stand against predators and uplift victims of his sexual abuse.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cChange them all to Dolores Huerta Dr.\u201d said a Facebook post<\/a> by 7th Poet Laureate of San Antonio Eddie Vega. \u201cThey should\u2019ve been named that all along.\u201d<\/p>\n Other people posting online called for C\u00e9sar Ch\u00e1vez\u00a0Boulevard to revert back to its longtime name of Durango Boulevard. The street was renamed in honor of Ch\u00e1vez\u00a0 in 2011, costing the city $100,000, KENS 5 reported at the time<\/a>. The renaming also led to additional expenses and hassle for local businesses who were forced to replace signage, stationary and the like to reflect their new address. As the thoroughfare bisects much of the center city, numerous businesses were affected by the change.<\/p>\n As such, the change faced challenges, including a court battle<\/a>.<\/p>\n Despite the opposition, then-city councilman Phil Cortez led the charge to rename the street, saying the change was \u201clong overdue.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cHe is an American hero,\u201d Cortez said, according to a MySA report<\/a>. \u201cI think it\u2019s a fitting way to honor him.\u201d<\/p>\n Legacy tarnished<\/p>\n Cities throughout the country have streets named after the labor leader and Latino civil rights icon. Those included Houston, Dallas, Austin, Los Angeles, Chicago and Denver.<\/p>\n While Ch\u00e1vez became a hero of the labor and Chicano movements for leading boycotts to improve working conditions for migrant farmworkers, Huerta was often overshadowed by his legacy.<\/p>\n Huerta said Wednesday that she kept both the alleged acts of sexual violence by Ch\u00e1vez and their resultant pregnancies quiet. The legendary activist, who is known to be anti-abortion, decided to keep her pregnancies but give up the babies once they were born.<\/p>\n \u201cI had experienced abuse and sexual violence before, and I convinced myself these were incidents that I had to endure alone and in secret. Both sexual encounters with C\u00e9sar led to pregnancies,\u201d Huerta continued. \u201cI chose to keep my pregnancies secret and, after the children were born, I arranged for them to be raised by other families that could give them stable lives.\u201d<\/p>\n However, Huerta said she was willing to make the sacrifice for the cause of organizing farm workers against industry exploitation.<\/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 added. \u201cThe formation of a union was the only vehicle to accomplish and secure those rights, and I wasn\u2019t going to let C\u00e9sar or anyone else get in the way.\u201d<\/p>\n Huerta asserted that the movement is bigger than any individual. Nonetheless, she said that when she found out that the New York Times had become aware of other purported victims, at least one underage, she decided it was finally time to speak.<\/p>\n \u201cI have kept this secret long enough,\u201d Huerta stated. \u201cMy silence ends here.\u201d<\/p>\n Sign Up for SA Current newsletters.<\/a><\/p>\n Follow us:\u00a0Apple News<\/a>\u00a0|\u00a0Google News<\/a>\u00a0|\u00a0NewsBreak<\/a>\u00a0|\u00a0Reddit<\/a>\u00a0|\u00a0Instagram<\/a>\u00a0|\u00a0Facebook\u00a0<\/a>| Twitter<\/a>\u00a0| Or sign up for our\u00a0RSS Feed<\/a><\/p>\n Related Stories<\/p>\n \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t \n\t\t\t\t\tAbbott\u2019s decree comes as San Antonio officials call for renaming the city\u2019s C\u00e9sar E. Ch\u00e1vez Boulevard.\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n
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