# Abuse allegations against Cesar Chavez **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [March 18, 2026, 6:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/abuse-allegations-against-cesar-chavez/1028555 "2026-03-18T18:42:10Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![Roderick\_Femm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/roderick_femm/32/14875_2.png) [@Roderick\_Femm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Roderick_Femm)\ **Post date:** [March 18, 2026, 11:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/abuse-allegations-against-cesar-chavez/1028555/42 "2026-03-18T23:00:24Z")
> [@Smapti](#): > > When I was a kid in California, the state removed Columbus Day as one of the holidays that was a day off school, and replaced it with Cesar Chavez Day. > > I suppose they’re gonna have to do something about that now. No, they didn’t replace it with Cesar Chavez day. Columbus Day is no longer officially observed in California, it used to be observed on or around October 12th. It has become informally replaced by Indigenous Peoples’ Day, often supported by a governor’s proclamation. Cesar Chavez day is/was a state holiday celebrated on March 31. These two holidays are not at all connected. San Francisco has a major street named after Cesar Chavez, it’s too soon to know what, if anything, will be done about that. > [@Czarcasm](#): > > these events from 60 years ago should be investigated before actions are taken Of course. They may be difficult to prove after that long a time. > [@Czarcasm](#): > > they should _not_ be used to drive away the mention of the current ongoing and much worse problems currently besetting us I see no evidence this is happening. The right wing will almost certainly try, but if the investigation into Chavez’ behavior is handled openly and straightforwardly, it will drop off center stage and cease to be an issue. If right wingers take this sort of news to their hearts with the idea “See, they’re no better than we are,” well, there’s nothing that can be done about that. And it shouldn’t change anything about how the investigation is handled. ---
**Author:** ![Reply](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/reply/32/15952_2.png) [@Reply](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Reply)\ **Post date:** [March 18, 2026, 11:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/abuse-allegations-against-cesar-chavez/1028555/43 "2026-03-18T23:09:20Z")
I was quite saddened to hear this. The NY Times report seems very credible – extraordinary proof that meets the claim. Even more sadly, I can’t say I’m surprised. I think I’ve grown to assume this to be the default situation for powerful men, especially of previous eras. Indeed when Newsom expressed his surprise, my first thought was “I wonder when he’ll be me-tooed”. I also believe that, broadly speaking, the objective of the left isn’t “power at any cost” the way it often is for the modern right. If the underlying goal was improving society and power structures for all, then self-reflections and admissions of wrongdoing like this are not just permissible, but strictly necessary. There would be no moral leg to stand on over the long term otherwise. The women in the story all struggled with that same dynamic, of trying to balance the needs of the labor movement against their own trauma. I’m glad they finally decided to speak out, but it’s also understandable why they had not done so in the past. I’m also glad that more of society is able to hear and believe their stories now, which probably wouldn’t have been the case even just a couple decades ago, and probably still isn’t the case today for too many women, especially those on the right or those under the shadow of powerful contemporary figures. If Chavez were still alive today, I wonder how this would’ve played out differently. Probably they wouldn’t have come forward, still. I think it was a mistake to have normalized this behavior as “just guys being guys” in the past, and I’m glad this is shifting (very slowly and only in tiny amounts) now. Trump and Kavanaugh etc. are still altogether immune to it. Hopefully history will judge them for it later. ---
**Author:** ![LSLGuy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lslguy/32/5813_2.png) [@LSLGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LSLGuy)\ **Post date:** [March 18, 2026, 11:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/abuse-allegations-against-cesar-chavez/1028555/44 "2026-03-18T23:13:30Z")
I can readily believe that Chavez did most or all of what’s come to light, and more besides. And as noted above, so did one heck of a lot of other powerful men in that era. And still into this era, but maybe not so much or so many as before. I can also readily believe that a lot of RW “operatives” are trawling all of the last 50-75 years of history to identify non-Republicans, and only non-Republicans, who might usefully be exposed and tarred right now as part of a distraction campaign to limit RW leaders’ culpability for their similar crimes. ---
**Author:** ![Chefguy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chefguy/32/138_2.png) [@Chefguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chefguy)\ **Post date:** [March 18, 2026, 11:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/abuse-allegations-against-cesar-chavez/1028555/45 "2026-03-18T23:13:54Z")
My wife is pretty upset by this. She worked for him way back in the day and had a lot of respect for him and for the movement. We still have an old Farm Workers poster around here somewhere. ---
**Author:** ![Smapti](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/smapti/32/17938_2.png) [@Smapti](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Smapti)\ **Post date:** [March 18, 2026, 11:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/abuse-allegations-against-cesar-chavez/1028555/46 "2026-03-18T23:15:07Z")
> [@Roderick\_Femm](#): > > No, they didn’t replace it with Cesar Chavez day. Columbus Day is no longer officially observed in California, it used to be observed on or around October 12th. It has become informally replaced by Indigenous Peoples’ Day, often supported by a governor’s proclamation. Cesar Chavez day is/was a state holiday celebrated on March 31. These two holidays are not at all connected. I’m fairly sure I remember the one being dropped and the other being adopted around the same time, so as to keep the number of state holidays the same. Indigenous People’s Day wasn’t a day off school. Cesar Chavez Day WAS. I was, however, a child at the time. ---
**Author:** ![hajario](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hajario/32/171_2.png) [@hajario](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hajario)\ **Post date:** [March 18, 2026, 11:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/abuse-allegations-against-cesar-chavez/1028555/47 "2026-03-18T23:18:58Z")
They also dumped Lincoln’s Birthday, changed Washington’s Birthday to President’s Day and added MLK Day. ---
**Author:** ![What\_Exit](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/what_exit/32/10652_2.png) [@What\_Exit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/What_Exit)\ **Post date:** [March 18, 2026, 11:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/abuse-allegations-against-cesar-chavez/1028555/48 "2026-03-18T23:19:42Z")
Not joking, who? ---
**Author:** ![crowmanyclouds](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/crowmanyclouds/32/19884_2.png) [@crowmanyclouds](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/crowmanyclouds)\ **Post date:** [March 18, 2026, 11:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/abuse-allegations-against-cesar-chavez/1028555/49 "2026-03-18T23:47:47Z")
> [@Czarcasm](#): > > One man may have raped 60 years ago, while another is impeached twice, convicted multiple times, is sexually skeevy to the nth degree and yet is elected President twice. I guess we can take some solace that Cesar Chavez, were he still alive, is now a qualified Republican candidate for President . . . or something. ---
**Author:** ![DSeid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dseid/32/20194_2.png) [@DSeid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DSeid)\ **Post date:** [March 18, 2026, 11:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/abuse-allegations-against-cesar-chavez/1028555/50 "2026-03-18T23:49:35Z")
I care a lot about misdeeds by those currently in leadership. Some but still a bunch about those whose crimes and leadership days are past but who are still alive to face up to, maybe even atone for, past actions. I care fairly little about uncovering possible misdeeds of historic figures of the distant past. This is in a gray zone? Presumptive victims (and yeah it seems highly likely true) still around to be acknowledged. Do these crimes undo the great things he did? No more than the great things offset his having done these horrible things. He was both. I can only think of the myths in Torah in which almost all the heroes also had huge flaws. David was both a great king and a horrible person who had Uriah killed so he could screw around with Bathsheba. ---
**Author:** ![Spice\_Weasel](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spice_weasel/32/5435_2.png) [@Spice\_Weasel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spice_Weasel)\ **Post date:** [March 19, 2026, 12:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/abuse-allegations-against-cesar-chavez/1028555/51 "2026-03-19T00:08:31Z")
> [@LSLGuy](#): > > I can also readily believe that a lot of RW “operatives” are trawling all of the last 50-75 years of history to identify non-Republicans, and only non-Republicans, who might usefully be exposed and tarred right now as part of a distraction campaign to limit RW leaders’ culpability for their similar crimes. This feels like a weak effort in that regard. I doubt most Republicans know or care about Cesar Chavez. I doubt many liberals are that connected to his work, either. I’m familiar with him (a bit) because my career trajectory was once planned to work with Latino immigrants. But even I couldn’t give much detail on his work. I don’t even know if the guy is still alive. I actually don’t expect Democrats to hold rapists accountable any more than Republicans. I’ve seen too many excuses made, women slandered and violent acts downplayed to be anything other than cynical about that. I don’t expect any part of society to hold rapists accountable. It’s always a nice surprise when they do. But this guy, it’s going to be a bummer for a lot of people, and they’ll move on. You can’t subtract the good from the bad any more than you can subtract the bad from the good. People are their whole entire selves which means they leave whole entire legacies. I don’t blame anyone who no longer wants to hold this guy up as a civil rights icon, but I don’t blame anyone who still finds inspiration in the work he did. He just joins a vast pantheon of leaders with complicated legacies. ---
**Author:** ![TroutMan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/troutman/32/6721_2.png) [@TroutMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TroutMan)\ **Post date:** [March 19, 2026, 12:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/abuse-allegations-against-cesar-chavez/1028555/52 "2026-03-19T00:25:59Z")
> [@DSeid](#): > > I care a lot about misdeeds by those currently in leadership. Some but still a bunch about those whose crimes and leadership days are past but who are still alive to face up to, maybe even atone for, past actions. > > I care fairly little about uncovering possible misdeeds of historic figures of the distant past. But it’s not so simple when there are things named after the person. Nuance is lost; the name doesn’t incorporate the idea that this was a flawed person who did both great but also terrible things. Honoring their legacy by naming a street or plaza carries the connotation that the bad things can be excused or aren’t that important. His importance in the labor movement and Latino representation can and should still be taught. But it’s worth asking what message is sent to victims of sexual abuse when things are named after him. I assume this is less of an issue elsewhere, but on the West Coast, there is a _lot_ named after him. ---
**Author:** ![ricepad](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/b38774/32.png) [@ricepad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ricepad)\ **Post date:** [March 19, 2026, 1:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/abuse-allegations-against-cesar-chavez/1028555/53 "2026-03-19T01:35:27Z")
Larry Itliong was the guy that brought the manongs into the UFW. Growers used to pit Hispanic (mostly Mexican) immigrants against Filipino immigrants, basically threatening each group that if they didn’t work for low wages, the growers would hire the other group that would work for even lower wages. For a very long time, it worked. It took Itliong, Huerta, and Chavez to bring them all together to form the United Farm Workers. The solidarity between the two groups gave them power that neither had without the other. You probably don’t know about Larry Itliong because he didn’t like being in the limelight, where Cesar loved it, but without him, farmworkers would be even much worse off today. ---
**Author:** ![What\_Exit](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/what_exit/32/10652_2.png) [@What\_Exit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/What_Exit)\ **Post date:** [March 19, 2026, 1:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/abuse-allegations-against-cesar-chavez/1028555/54 "2026-03-19T01:37:59Z")
Thanks ---
**Author:** ![ricepad](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/b38774/32.png) [@ricepad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ricepad)\ **Post date:** [March 19, 2026, 1:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/abuse-allegations-against-cesar-chavez/1028555/55 "2026-03-19T01:41:21Z")
> [@hajario](#): > > changed Washington’s Birthday to President’s Day The holiday is still officially George Washington’s Birthday. There is no federal holiday known as “Presidents/President’s/Presidents’ Day”. ---
**Author:** ![gkster](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gkster/32/14107_2.png) [@gkster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gkster)\ **Post date:** [March 19, 2026, 2:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/abuse-allegations-against-cesar-chavez/1028555/56 "2026-03-19T02:14:38Z")
Larry Itliong - Wikipedia [Larry Itliong - Wikipedia](https://share.google/mZicEfts74PhcWGXj) ---
**Author:** ![nearwildheaven](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/90db22/32.png) [@nearwildheaven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nearwildheaven)\ **Post date:** [March 19, 2026, 2:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/abuse-allegations-against-cesar-chavez/1028555/57 "2026-03-19T02:17:52Z")
True, but the evidence backing it up is not as open-and-shut as the allegations against JFK! At least neither of them have ever, to my knowledge, been accused of anything nonconsensual. That it took this long for Chavez to be exposed (and Dolores Huerta’s allegations won’t be that hard to prove) doesn’t really surprise me, because of certain complex cultural issues regarding things like this. (And in the meantime, another Duggar son has been accused of terrible things. No, I don’t think it’s happening more; it’s being reported, and the victims believed.) ---
**Author:** ![Smapti](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/smapti/32/17938_2.png) [@Smapti](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Smapti)\ **Post date:** [March 19, 2026, 2:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/abuse-allegations-against-cesar-chavez/1028555/58 "2026-03-19T02:32:19Z")
> [@nearwildheaven](#): > > (and Dolores Huerta’s allegations won’t be that hard to prove) Going from what’s in the article, it sounds like they already have genetic proof that the two kids she put up for adoption were his. ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [March 19, 2026, 2:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/abuse-allegations-against-cesar-chavez/1028555/59 "2026-03-19T02:35:07Z")
> [@ThelmaLou](#): > > This. Not to excuse it, but let’s recognize the reality of human nature, especially for men (yes, men) in power…and frankly for female underlings who are impressed by that power. This has been true throughout history! Yes, so I give men a pass (with a side eye) if all their conquests were consenting adults. But here with Chavez unable to defend himself, I also give some side eye. 50 years and they are only now coming forward? Memories that old are pretty worthless. and > [@Smapti](#): > > Ms. Huerta turns 96 on April 10. Her memories of the details of the assault that night in Delano are at times hazy. > [@Czarcasm](#): > > Absolutely not! I am “suggesting” that these events from 60 years ago should be investigated before actions are taken, How? 50 yo memories of a 96 yo woman? How do we investigate that? I mean we did find out that the accusations vs Biden were bogus, and maybe paid for, but they were recent enough to check out. We did give them some credence but then an investigation found out they were bogus > [@Roderick\_Femm](#): > > . Columbus Day is no longer officially observed in California, it used to be observed on or around October 12th. Yes and no. Yes, CA itself no longer observes it, but as it is a Federal holiday, it is still observed in the state. > [@nearwildheaven](#): > > That it took this long for Chavez to be exposed (and Dolores Huerta’s allegations won’t be that hard to prove) How? I mean if there is solid evidence, then that is acceptable, I dont even need proof. But not 50 yo uncorroborated memories? Huertas reason is > "Huerta had not publicly shared her story, and said in the statement that she chose to come forward after the Times “indicated that I was not the only one – there were others”. The other two are anonymous? Yes, I would like to see a solid investigation here and some solid evidence- please. I am not saying this is bogus by any means, but before we start renaming things, lets check some facts. ---
**Author:** ![TroutMan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/troutman/32/6721_2.png) [@TroutMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TroutMan)\ **Post date:** [March 19, 2026, 2:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/abuse-allegations-against-cesar-chavez/1028555/60 "2026-03-19T02:38:25Z")
> [@DrDeth](#): > > The other two are anonymous? You could just read the article in the OP before you make guesses about the evidence. ---
**Author:** ![Smapti](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/smapti/32/17938_2.png) [@Smapti](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Smapti)\ **Post date:** [March 19, 2026, 2:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/abuse-allegations-against-cesar-chavez/1028555/61 "2026-03-19T02:39:08Z")
> [@DrDeth](#): > > 50 years and they are only now coming forward? Yes, victims of child abuse often wait a long time to come forward, especially if their abuser was an authority figure. > [@DrDeth](#): > > How? I mean if there is solid evidence, then that is acceptable There’s genetic proof that two of Huerta’s children are his. > While Mr. Chavez had eight children with his wife, Helen Chavez, the Times investigation showed that he also fathered at least four children with three other women. Two of these children and other family members were interviewed and confirmed the relationship. Additionally, 23andMe match results were reviewed for the four children, and they confirmed Mr. Chavez’s biological ties in each case. > > Two of the children were the result of his two sexual encounters with Ms. Huerta, she told The Times, including the assault she described in 1966. Ms. Huerta said she concealed the pregnancies by wearing baggy clothes and ponchos, had the baby girls and then arranged for them to be raised by others. > [@DrDeth](#): > > I would like to see a solid investigation here He’s dead. You can’t put a skeleton on trial. The New York Times is about as authoritative of an investigation that’s going to happen. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/abuse-allegations-against-cesar-chavez/1028555.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/abuse-allegations-against-cesar-chavez/1028555.md?page=4)