phoenix — Mary Rose Wilcox and her husband walked and fasted alongside them Cesar Chavez. They helped him open a radio station in Phoenix, and filled their Mexican restaurant with photos and a mural of the widely admired Latin icon.
So when Wilcox’s daughter called this week to inform them Sexual assault allegations directed against Chavez, she said felt like a punch in the gut.
By Wednesday morning, the couple had removed images of Chavez from the walls of their restaurant and planned to cover the mural.
“We love Cesar Chavez. But we can’t honor him and we can’t even love him anymore,” the former Phoenix City Councilman said.
Many like Wilcox are Working to reconcile heritage A man who fought tirelessly for farmworkers’ rights with stunning allegations that he sexually assaulted girls and co-founder of the United Farm Workers of America, Dolores Huerta.
Latino leaders and community groups quickly called the alleged abuses by Chavez inexcusable, but stressed that the farmworker movement was never just one man. Chavez died in California in 1993 at the age of 66.
There have been calls to change the memorials to honor the man who in the 1960s helped secure better wages and working conditions for farm workers, and has long been He is respected by many Democratic leaders In the United States, a California museum said it would remove Chavez from the state’s Hall of Fame, something that had never happened to anyone before.
Some local and state leaders in both parties urged their communities not to celebrate Chavez’s birthday on March 31 with the usual activities and renaming of buildings and city streets. Chavez celebrations in San Francisco, Texas, and in his home state of Arizona have already been canceled at the request of the Cesar Chavez Foundation.
Huerta, a labor rights legend, said in a statement released Wednesday that she remained silent for 60 years out of fear that her words would harm the farmworker movement. She said she did not know that Chavez had harmed other women.
Huerta described two sexual encounters with Chavez, one in which she was “manipulated and pressured” and another in which she was “forced against my will.” She said both led to pregnancy, which she kept secret, and that she had arranged for the children to be raised by other families.
She joined Chavez in 1962 to co-found the National Farm Workers Association, which later became the United Farm Workers of America. For many, they were akin to Martin Luther King. Jr. and Rosa Parks for their work advocating for racial equality and civil rights.
The New York Times first reported on Wednesday that it had found that Chavez had groomed and sexually assaulted young girls working in the movement. Huerta also revealed to the newspaper that she was a victim of abuse in her 30s.
Chavez is known nationally for his early stances organization in the fields, A hunger strike, a grape boycott, and a final victory in convincing farmers to negotiate with farmworkers for better wages and working conditions.
Streets, schools and parks throughout the Southwest bear Chavez’s name. California became the first state to celebrate his birthday, and in 2014, then-President Barack Obama declared March 31 National Cesar Chavez Day. The president was Joe Biden Bronze bust of Chavez It was installed in the Oval Office when he moved to the White House.
Biden and Obama have not yet commented on the allegations, while California Governor Gavin Newsom said he is still processing the news.
Miriam Powell, a veteran California journalist who wrote a biography of him, said Chavez was full of contradictions even as a union leader. She said there were abusive behaviors within the union, but people did not speak up because they believed the union was the best way to protect farmworkers.
“For many years, for most of these people, even when they saw things they found upsetting, they didn’t want to talk about them,” Powell said.
Chavez was born in Yuma, Arizona, and grew up in a Mexican American family that moved around California picking lettuce, grapes, cotton and other seasonal crops.
Chavez’s family said in a statement that they were shocked by news of these accusations.
“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 fairness and justice, we respect the voices of those who feel unheard and who report sexual assault.”
The Cesar Chavez Foundation pledged unequivocal support for the labor leader’s victims on Wednesday and said – with the support of Chavez’s family – the organization will discover its identity in the future.
The United Farm Workers Union quickly distanced itself from the annual celebrations of its founding founderHe described these allegations as disturbing.
Wilcox said Chavez helped people understand the importance of workers at all levels by organizing marches and helping pass laws and get contracts for workers.
She said it was heartbreaking to have to remove the photos that visitors to their restaurant loved to take pictures in front of.
“There are two things: Chavez the man, and Chavez the man we never knew,” she said. “And the one we knew, we knew the good things he did and the things we saw exist. … And the one we didn’t know is like a monster.”
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Golden reported from Seattle. Figueroa reported from Austin, Texas. Associated Press writers Susan Montoya Bryan in Albuquerque, New Mexico; Tran Nguyen in Sacramento, California; Durrani Pineda in Los Angeles contributed to this report.