Events Honoring Late Civil Rights Leader Cesar Chavez Canceled Across Country Amid Bombshell Allegations of Sexual Assault

A sculpture of Latino American civil rights and labor leader Cesar Chavez is displayed in the Oval Office of the White House, Thursday, Jan. 28, 2021, in Washington. The granddaughter of late Latino labor activist Cesar Chavez and his bronze bust both have a prominent place in President Joe Biden’s White House. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)

Organizers across the country have begun canceling events honoring civil rights activist Cesar Chavez amid multiple allegations of sexual abuse.

Chavez, who died in 1993, co-founded the United Farm Workers in 1962 and has long been revered as an icon of the labor movement. Next year, as noted in a report from the San Antonio Express-News, Chavez would have turned 100. Planned celebrations for his 100th birthday, however, have been getting called off in light of the bombshell allegations. According to the Express-News, a “national news publication” is expected to release a report on the allegations “in the coming weeks.” Chavez was accused of engaging in a sexual relationship with at least one minor.

On Tuesday, United Farm Workers released a statement announcing the organization would not be participating in any Cesar Chavez Day activities on March 31. The statement continued:

The UFW has learned of deeply troubling allegations that one of the union’s co-founders, Cesar Chavez, behaved in ways that are incompatible with our organization’s values. Some of the reports are family issues, and not our story to tell or our place to comment on. Far more troubling are allegations involving abuse of young women or minors. Allegations that very young women or girls may have been victimized are crushing. We have not received any direct reports, and we do not have any firsthand knowledge of these allegations. However, 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.

Mark Day, a former priest who worked at UFW in the 1970s, told the San Antonio Express-News that at least two women spoke out against Chavez. Those allegations, he said, “never went anywhere.”

Cesar E. Chavez Legacy & Educational Foundation chairman Edgar J. Martinez announced the cancellation of the organization’s annual march in San Antonio, but did not elaborate on the reason for it.

New: The Mediaite One-Sheet "Newsletter of Newsletters"
Your daily summary and analysis of what the many, many media newsletters are saying and reporting. Subscribe now!