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A day after a New York Times investigation and civil rights leader Dolores Huerta accused United Farm Workers co-founder Cesar Chavez of sexual abuse, the city of Hollister scheduled a special meeting to consider a street that bears his name. Chavez and his work as a field worker activist had deep ties in San Benito County.
“I am deeply shocked and saddened to hear the allegations against the late Cesar Chavez,” Hollister Mayor Roxanne Stephens said in a statement released by the city. “While it is disheartening to hear the allegations, I commend civil rights leader Dolores Huerta for the courage to speak out and share her story.”
The public meeting is scheduled for March 19 at 6:30 p.m. at Hollister City Hall.
The city statement said vice mayor Pricilla De Anda called for the city to reexamine the appropriateness of honoring Chavez moving forward. “At least until there is more clarity surrounding these allegations,” the statement said.
Hollister renamed a portion of Union Road, southeast of the city, to Avenida Cesar Chavez in 2022.
Local civil rights organizations have held events honoring Chavez’s work advocating for farmworker rights on his birthday, March 31, and celebrating Chavez’s and Huerta’s impact in San Benito County. It’s unclear if those annual events are still being planned.
In a statement, Huerta said she had two sexual encounters with Chavez in the 1960s that resulted in two pregnancies. She said the first time she felt manipulated and pressured into having sex. The second time, she said, was against her will.
“I carried this secret for as long as I did because building the movement and securing farmworker rights was my life’s work,” Huerta said. “The formation of a union was the only vehicle to accomplish and secure those rights and I wasn’t going to let Cesar or anyone else get in the way.”
Huerta said after the births of those children, she arranged for other families to raise them.
The Chavez family released a statement saying it was devastated by the New York Times article, which says two other women, Ana Murguia and Debra Rojas, also said they were abused by Chavez when they were teenagers.
“We wish peace and healing to the survivors and commend their courage to come forward,” the family said. “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.”
It goes on to say, “We carry our own memories of the person we knew. Someone whose life included work and contributions that matter deeply to many people.”
The Cesar Chavez Foundation said the allegations are “shocking, incredibly disappointing, and deeply painful.”
The foundation also said, “To the survivors: We believe you. We honor your courage, and we are very sorry for the harm you have carried in the shadows for so long.”
It goes on to say the farmworker movement was never about one man but that it belongs to the people who built it and the communities it continues to serve.
“The movement was built by thousands of ordinary women, men and families from all walks of life who sacrificed for justice they believed in,” the foundation said. “Their contributions and the communities they transformed, belong to all of them. They cannot and will not be erased.”
The Latino Coalition of San Benito County declined to comment. The League of United Latin American Citizens (LULAC) of San Benito County did not immediately respond to a call for comment.
State and national responses reflect the foundation’s statements that the movement is bigger than one person.
“The actions of one person neither reflect nor diminish the integrity of the farmworker movement,” the national LULAC said. “LULAC remains unchanged in its support of the farmworker movement and the countless men and women who, for generations, have labored in the fields, often unseen and unheard, to sustain their families and feed this nation.”
Officials representing San Benito County said they were shocked and horrified by the allegations.
“My heart breaks for the survivors who had to carry this pain for so many years, including UFW co-founder Dolores Huerta, and my thoughts are with all the brave women who have shared their stories,” Congresswoman Zoe Lofgren said. “The United Farm Workers and the movement it represents is so much bigger than one man, and we must continue confronting the injustices faced by America’s farmworkers.”
Assembly Speaker Robert Rivas said he was angry and “deeply disappointed.”
“The fact that many of these women were children when they were abused makes this even more heartbreaking,” he said. “But today, above all, we recognize their courage. Because speaking the truth, especially after so many years, takes extraordinary strength.”
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