Officials reconsider holidays, street names after abuse allegations tied to labor leader. In Dallas, a council member is questioning Cesar Chavez Day and Labor Day observances.
By Devyani Chhetri
Dallas Morning News
https://www.dallasnews.com/
Ashley Landis / Staff Photographer
Calls to remove Cesar Chavez’s name from public honors are spreading from Dallas to Austin and beyond, as sexual abuse allegations against the late labor leader push officials and advocacy groups to reconsider holidays, street names and his legacy.
Gov. Greg Abbott said Wednesday that Texas will no longer observe Cesar Chavez Day and he plans to ask lawmakers to remove the holiday from state law.
In Dallas, City Council member Adam Bazaldua said the city should rethink its recognition of Cesar Chavez Day on March 31 and Labor Day.
“Let me be clear – no political affiliation, legacy or historic contribution should ever shield sexual predators from scrutiny or excuse the harm inflicted on survivors,” Bazaldua said in a Facebook post.
The moves come after allegations that Chavez groomed and sexually abused women and minors who worked in the farmworker movement, including Dolores Huerta, who co-founded the United Farm Workers with him.
In a statement Wednesday, Huerta said she stayed silent for decades to protect the farmworker movement. She described being “manipulated and pressured” in one encounter and “forced against my will” in another.
“I am nearly 96 years old, and for the last 60 years have kept a secret because I believed that exposing the truth would hurt the farmworker movement,” she said.
She said she did not know Chavez might have hurt other women, condemned his actions and said the movement is not defined by one person.
“Cesar’s actions do not reflect the values of our community and our movement,” she said.
In Dallas, Bazaldua said he plans to elevate Huerta’s role in the labor movement, praising her for standing up “for what is right even when it is difficult.”
Social media groups Wednesday rallied behind efforts to rename Dallas’ Cesar Chavez Boulevard, which runs south of Interstate 30 near Old City Park and up near the Farmers Market.
The street runs through Mayor Pro Tem Jesse Moreno’s district. He and council members Jaime Resendez, Laura Cadena, Paula Blackmon and Gay Donnell Willis joined Bazaldua in a push to designate April 10 as “Dolores Huerta Day” and discuss whether to rename Cesar Chavez Boulevard.
Meanwhile, advocacy groups in Austin canceled the city’s annual Cesar Chavez March, and similar events in Houston, San Antonio and Corpus Christi have been called off.
California became the first state to establish March 31, Chavez’s birthday, as a day commemorating the labor leader. Others followed.
Capitol reaction
The Mexican American Legislative Caucus, made up of state House members, described the allegations as “a profound betrayal” and said it will pursue renaming the state holiday, pointing to Huerta and other leaders as alternatives for recognition.
“It takes real courage to speak out, especially when so many felt they had to stay silent for decades,” the group said. “No one, regardless of their status or legacy, is above accountability.”
The United Farm Workers union has already distanced itself from annual celebrations of its founder, calling the allegations troubling.
He is known nationally for his early organizing in the fields, a hunger strike, a grape boycott and eventual victory in getting growers to negotiate with farmworkers for better wages and working conditions.
Before joining the Dallas Morning News, Devyani Chhetri covered South Carolina politics and presidential primaries at the Greenville News. She went to Boston University for graduate school.
This story, originally published in The Dallas Morning News, is reprinted as part of a collaborative partnership between The Dallas Morning News and Texas Metro News. The partnership seeks to boost coverage of Dallas’ communities of color, particularly in southern Dallas.
