By Edmond Ortiz
City officials are considering changing the name of Cesar Chavez Boulevard in light of recent reported accusations that the late United Farm Workers founder groomed and sexually abused multiple girls who were part of the Latino civil rights movement.
District 5 City Councilmember Teri Castillo submitted a memo March 18, asking city staff to work with the San Antonio AFL-CIO to develop a series of public meetings with a goal of revoking the honor, which the city had bestowed upon Chavez by renaming the former Durango Boulevard, an east-west street in downtown, in 2011.
In her memo, Castillo also said the same public meetings, or community listening sessions as she called them, should be used toward renaming the city’s Cesar Chavez Day by honoring another noted community figure.
The city canceled this year’s annual Cesar Chavez March just days before the New York Times published an article in which two women, Ana Murguia and Debra Rojas, accused Chavez of sexually abusing them several times in the 1970s when they were teenagers active in the farm workers’ movement in California.
The same Times story contains an allegation from UFW co-founder Dolores Huerta, a noted Latino civil rights champion, that Chavez raped her in 1966. According to the article’s authors, this is the first time that Huerta has publicly disclosed her claim.
Huerta issued a statement, saying she was initially reluctant to openly say anything about the assault for fear that it would hurt the farm workers movement in the `60s or `70s.
“I have never identified myself as a victim, but I now understand that I am a survivor — of violence, of sexual abuse, of domineering men who saw me, and other women, as property, or things to control,” Huerta said in her statement.
“I am telling my story because the New York Times has indicated that I was not the only one — there were others. Women are coming forward, sharing that they were sexually abused and assaulted by Cesar when they were girls and teenagers.”
Huerta continued: “The knowledge that he hurt young girls sickens me. My heart aches for everyone who suffered alone and in silence for years. There are no words strong enough to condemn those deplorable actions that he did. Cesar’s actions do not reflect the values of our community and our movement.”
The allegations about Chavez have prompted the UFW and several U.S. cities to cancel marches and celebrations that were supposed to take place on or around Chavez’s birthday of March 31.
Now, cities and other organizations are considering taking away a variety of honors from Chavez, who had long been seen as a major figure who helped to advance civil rights for Mexican-Americans.
In her request to city staff, Castillo also asked the city to mull creating a fund to help people who work or live along Cesar Chavez Boulevard. The money, Castillo said, would lessen the financial burden that such individuals may feel in another street name change, including updating their driver’s license or identity card, or buying new checks with the new street name.
Elsewhere, Gov. Greg Abbott said that state officials are working to remove Cesar Chavez Day designation from state law. Additionally, the Congressional Hispanic Caucus announced it would work to rename federal landmarks and holidays bearing Cesar Chavez’s name.
Locally, the Mexican American Civil Rights Institute issued a statement focused on sexual assault and abuse survivors.
“Many in our community and beyond are hurting from today’s news. It takes incredible courage to speak out about abuse, and we hold the survivors in our hearts,” MACRI stated on a social media post. “All survivors of sexual abuse deserve justice, whoever the perpetrator.”
The Alamo Colleges District announced that campuses will be closed on March 31, but the district is now “shifting the focus of the day,” according to an announcement from ACD officials.
“We invite the Alamo Colleges community to dedicate this time to community service and volunteerism. This is an opportunity to live our mission—supporting our communities and expanding opportunity through service and connection,” district officials stated.
Directors with the Cesar E. Chavez Legacy and Educational Foundation announced that they would be dissolving their longstanding nonprofit organization as a result of the revelations about Chavez.
“This decision reflects our obligation to uphold the values that have guided our work and to ensure we do not contribute to further harming or diminishing the experiences of those who have come forward,” foundation officials said in a statement.
