Cesar Chavez is accused of sexual abuse by women, including Dolores Huerta. Leaders across the U.S. want to remove his name.

Calls are mounting for officials in numerous states to cancel celebrations honoring Cesar Chavez and strip his name from schools, streets, parks and municipal buildings after the New York Times reported this week that the Latino labor leader and civil rights icon, who died in 1993, has been accused of sexual abuse by women, some of them in their early teens at the time. The accusers include activist Dolores Huerta, who cofounded the United Farm Workers union with him.

Two women told the Times that Chavez sexually abused them over a five-year period in the 1970s, beginning when they were 12 and 13.

Huerta, 95, said that she had two nonconsensual “sexual encounters” with him in the 1960s, including one where she was “manipulated and pressured” and another where she was “forced against my will.” Both ended in pregnancies, which she said she concealed by wearing baggy clothes and ponchos.

Huerta said that she arranged for the two children she had as a result of the assaults to be raised by other families and that no one knew the truth about how they were conceived “until just a few weeks ago.”

Why Huerta says she kept it a secret for so long

In a statement released after the Times story was published, Huerta said she kept the alleged assaults secret “because I believed that exposing the truth would hurt the farmworker movement I have spent my entire life fighting for.”

“I carried this secret for as long as I did because building the movement and securing farmworker rights was my life’s work,” Huerta said. “The formation of a union was the only vehicle to accomplish and secure those rights, and I wasn’t going to let Cesar or anyone else get in the way.”

Chavez, Huerta and Gilbert Padilla founded the National Farm Workers Association, which later became the United Farm Workers of America, in 1962.

Huerta coined the phrase, “Sí, se puede,” loosely translated as “Yes, we can,” as the union’s rallying cry.

“The farmworker movement has always been bigger and far more important than any one individual,” Huerta said. “Cesar’s actions do not diminish the permanent improvements achieved for farmworkers with the help of thousands of people. We must continue to engage and support our community, which needs advocacy and activism now more than ever.”

Huerta said she never considered herself a victim until now and was unaware of the abuse others allegedly experienced before the Times exposé.

“The knowledge that he hurt young girls sickens me,” she said. “My heart aches for everyone who suffered alone and in silence for years.”

The fallout

Several states — including California, Colorado, Minnesota, Texas, Utah and Washington — recognize March 31, Chavez’s birthday, as an annual holiday. Dozens of schools, streets and municipal buildings across the United States, including many in the Southwest, bear his name.

In Arizona, where Chavez was born, Gov. Katie Hobbs announced Wednesday that the state will not recognize Cesar Chavez Day this year, saying she was “deeply concerned by the troubling allegations.” (Cesar Chavez Day isn’t a formal state holiday in Arizona, but it is considered one in several cities there.)

Texas Gov. Greg Abbott said that his state would not recognize the holiday this year and would work with the state legislature to remove it altogether.

“Reports of the horrific and widely acknowledged sexual assault allegations against Cesar Chavez rightfully dismantle the myth of this progressive hero and undermine the narrative that elevated Chavez as a figure worthy of official state celebration,” Abbott said in a statement.

California Gov. Gavin Newsom said Wednesday he was still “processing” the news and would not commit to making any changes to the state holiday but was “open” to the idea.

In 2000, California became the first state to designate Chavez’s birthday as a paid holiday for state employees.

Leaders of California’s state legislature announced Thursday that they intend to rename Cesar Chavez Day as Farmworkers Day in light of the allegations.

In Dallas, city council members want to rename the holiday “Dolores Huerta Day” and move it to April 10, her birthday.

The reaction from other U.S. lawmakers

Sen. Alex Padilla, a Democrat from California and the state’s first Latino elected to the U.S. Senate, condemned the “abhorrent actions” described by Chavez’s alleged victims.

“There must be zero tolerance for abuse, exploitation and the silencing of victims, no matter who is involved,” Padilla said in a statement. “Confronting painful truths and ensuring accountability is essential to honoring the very values the greater farm worker movement stands for — values rooted in dignity and justice for all.”

Rep. Adelita Grijalva, a Democrat from Arizona, acknowledged that “there is a profound sense of grief in our community today that may bring mixed emotions.”

“The betrayal of trust by a leader who had such a significant impact on our community is difficult to comprehend,” she said in a statement. “It is OK to feel angry, shocked, heartbroken, saddened, confused, and dismayed — all at the same time. We still have more questions than answers. However, it is important to remember that one person does not define a movement. We, the people, are the movement.”

Chavez was given the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the nation’s highest civilian honor, in 1994.

The Chavez National Monument, where Chavez is buried, was established in Keene, Calif., in 2012.

In 2014, then-President Barack Obama signed a proclamation designating March 31 as Cesar Chavez Day. It is not a federal holiday, however. It’s a commemorative observance.

UFW, other groups distance themselves

The United Farm Workers union canceled all of its annual celebratory events and distanced itself from its cofounder.

“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,” the union said in a statement. “Allegations that very young women or girls may have been victimized are crushing.”

The union said it had “not received any direct reports” nor had “any firsthand knowledge” of the claims against Chavez.

“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,” it said.

The Cesar Chavez and United Farm Workers Foundations released similar statements condemning the alleged abuse.

“The allegations about abusive behavior by Cesar Chavez go against everything that we stand for,” the UFW Foundation said. “These disturbing allegations involve inappropriate behavior by Cesar Chavez with young women and minors, they are shocking, indefensible and something we are taking seriously.”

The voter organizing group Voto Latino said Chavez must be held accountable.

“Let us be direct: the alleged sexual abuse of women and minors by Cesar Chavez is indefensible,” the group said in a statement. “No context, no historical framing, and no legacy excuses the abuse of power by someone in a position of authority to exploit women and minors.”

It added: “We know this news is devastating for our community. For generations, Cesar Chavez has been a symbol of what Latino power could achieve. Reckoning with his actions is painful — and necessary. True justice requires us to hold the people closest to our movements to the highest standards, not the lowest.”