A towering figure of the farmworker movement is now accusing its most famous leader of sexual assault. Dolores Huerta, the 96-year-old co-founder of the United Farm Workers, says Cesar Chavez manipulated her into sex, then raped her, on two separate occasions in the 1960s, according to a statement released Wednesday alongside a New York Times investigation into broader allegations against Chavez, who died in 1993. On the first occasion, at a California hotel in 1960, Huerta says she "didn't feel I could say no because he was someone that I admired, my boss, and the leader of the movement." On the second occasion, in a secluded field in 1966, she says Chavez raped her "against my will, and in an environment where I felt trapped," per the Guardian.
Huerta says both encounters led to pregnancies she kept hidden, arranging for the children to be raised by other families, though she maintains a "deep relationship" with them. She says she stayed silent for decades out of fear that telling the truth would damage the movement she helped build. "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," she adds.
The Chavez family did not contest the accusations, saying they were devastated and expressing support for survivors. The Cesar Chavez Foundation says it will work with the union to help others come forward. The UFW has canceled planned Chavez celebrations, while some cities have moved to drop his name from streets and other honors, per Reuters. See more of the fallout here.
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