His name seems like it’s everywhere: Cesar Chavez Avenue cuts through downtown Los Angeles. Phoenix has Cesar Chavez Library, located in Cesar Chavez Park. Dozens of roads from Utah to Michigan bear his name, and some three dozen schools in California alone were named to honor his legacy as a labor movement trailblazer and civil rights icon.
That all may be changing soon.
Seismic allegations that Chavez sexually abused young girls and women, including fellow labor movement leader Dolores Huerta, have forced a reckoning among local officials and the public about what to do with a figure whose name has loomed so large for so long.
Huerta, 95, said in a statement Wednesday that Chavez, a co-founder of what became the United Farm Workers, coerced her into having sex with him once and, on another occasion, raped her. Huerta first revealed her claims of sexual assault to The New York Times, which published an investigation Wednesday of allegations by her and two other women, who said they were 12 and 13 when Chavez first molested them.
Amid the fallout from the allegations, members of the public quickly called on officials to rename locations that carry his moniker. Now, local officials in multiple states have begun the arduous work of changing the names of locations and holidays, as well as contemplating the fate of monuments and murals that honor Chavez. Some have proposed renaming streets after Huerta and others have suggested renaming March 31, which President Barack Obama in 2014 designated Cesar Chavez Day, as Farm Workers Day.
Huerta said in a statement that she kept the sexual abuse “a secret” because she believed “exposing the truth would hurt the farmworker movement I have spent my entire life fighting for.” The Times reported it could not corroborate Huerta’s allegations.
The newspaper said it relied on interviews with more than 60 people, including former top aides, relatives and former members of the United Farm Workers. It also combed through union records, confidential emails, photographs and recordings of UFW board meetings.
Chavez’s family said in a statement that it was “shocked and saddened” by the allegations that he had “engaged in sexual impropriety with women and minors nearly 50 years ago.”
“We wish peace and healing to the survivors and commend their courage to come forward. As a family steeped in the values of equity and justice, we honor the voices of those who feel unheard and who report sexual abuse,” the family stated, adding that it remains “committed to farmworkers and the causes he and countless others championed and continue to champion.”
When asked about streets named after Chavez, Huerta said during an interview with the public radio program Latino USA that “everything should be named for the martyrs of the Farm Workers Movement. Every street should be named after them.”
California Gov. Gavin Newsom and his wife, Jennifer Seibel Newsom, said Wednesday they have been friends with Huerta for decades and had no idea she had endured sexual abuse.
When asked about renaming streets, schools and tributes to Chavez, Newsom said during a news conference, “We’re just going to have to reflect on all of that, and reflect on a farm workers movement and a labor movement that was much bigger than one man, and celebrate that.”
“That will be our focus as we process what the next steps are.”
The Congressional Hispanic Caucus said the allegations were “deeply disturbing” and “we cannot celebrate a man, regardless of his accomplishments, if he harmed women and children in such vile ways.”
The caucus said it was committed “to work toward renaming streets, post offices, vessels, and holidays that bear Chávez’s name to instead honor our community and the farmworkers whose struggle defined the movement.”
In Los Angeles County, County Chair and First District Supervisor Hilda Solis said in a statement Wednesday that she was “deeply shaken by the abuse involving Cesar Chavez, including the horrific account shared by my close friend, Dolores Huerta, and other survivors.”
Solis said she will introduce a motion directing “an exploration of renaming parks, streets, County facilities, real property, monuments, and other County programs that bear the name of Cesar Chavez, including the removal of related imagery in civic artworks, with decisions guided by community engagement.”
“We can continue to honor the farmworker movement and its enduring contributions while also confronting difficult truths,” she said. “Our responsibility is to center survivors, demand accountability, and ensure that our public recognitions reflect our shared values.”
On Thursday morning, Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass said she signed a proclamation to change Cesar Chavez Day to Farm Workers Day in the city and said the city would also look into renaming streets, buildings and other landmarks named after Chavez.
In San José, Mayor Matt Mahan and other local officials said in a statement that they would “initiate a process to identify locations, monuments, and other sites bearing Chavez’s name or likeness and drive a community-driven initiative that appropriately honors the broader farmworker justice movement without causing further harm to survivors.”
The city would also cancel events associated with the Cesar Chavez state holiday and instead identify ways to honor the farmworker movement, the statement said.
Denver Mayor Mike Johnston said Thursday that to honor the survivors of the abuse and “their courage and their commitment, we will remove Cesar Chavez’s name from the holiday, we will remove it from the park.”
A bust and plaque in his honor will also be removed, Johnston said during a news conference standing alongside members of the City Council and community.
“We will start a community process led by the folks standing behind us to have a thoughtful conversation about how we will rename each of those assets in a way that honors the leaders and the spirit of the movement that brought them forward,” he said.
Texas Gov. Greg Abbott, a Republican, said Thursday that the state would not observe Cesar Chavez Day and that he would “work with Texas lawmakers to remove Cesar Chavez Day from state law altogether.”
Officials in Sacramento, California; San Antonio and Austin, Texas; Portland, Oregon, and Albuquerque, New Mexico, also said they were reconsidering public spaces bearing his name. The city of Bakersfield, California, said it was ending efforts to rename a street for Chavez following the allegations.
In New Mexico, Albuquerque Mayor Tim Keller said he was directing city staff to work with the community and City Council “to take a fresh look at how Chávez is recognized across our programs, events, committees, and spaces, and to recommend changes that honor the full truth while continuing to uplift the movement for economic justice that shaped our community.”
“While he has meant a great deal to many families, this new information demands we widen our lens,” he said. “No one’s historic stature puts them beyond accountability.”
