LEILA FADEL, HOST:
People are reassessing the legacy of labor activist Cesar Chavez. The New York Times published an investigation Wednesday into the co-founder of the United Farm Workers union. The Times spoke to two women who said Chavez began sexually abusing them in the 1970s when they were just 12 and 13. He was in his 40s. One said he raped her. Houston Public Media's Michael Adkison reports on what comes next, with a federal holiday honoring Chavez less than two weeks away.
MICHAEL ADKISON, BYLINE: Chavez's family praised victims for coming forward, adding in a statement they, quote, "carry our own memories of the person we knew, someone whose life included work and contributions that matter deeply to many people." In California, where Chavez began his labor activism, advocating for grape harvesters, Democratic Governor Gavin Newsom stopped short of condemning Chavez.
(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)
GAVIN NEWSOM: We want to have the backs of our victims, but it's a sensitive, sensitive moment.
ADKISON: Newsom and other progressives say Chavez's legacy is bigger than just the fallen hero.
(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)
NEWSOM: It's about the movement. It's about farmworkers. It's about labor. It's about social justice, economic justice, racial justice, all things that the movement has inspired and we should all be celebrating.
ADKISON: In Republican-led Texas, meanwhile, Governor Greg Abbott is prohibiting all state agencies from observing Cesar Chavez Day. He also wants the state legislature to remove the holiday from state law altogether, saying the allegations, quote, "rightfully dismantle the myth of this progressive hero."
Across Texas and the country, Cesar Chavez Day has been celebrated with marches and parades. Now many of them are adjusting or outright canceling their celebrations. Arturo Eureste, one of the coordinators of an annual march in Houston, called Chavez a Latino icon unlike any other in the U.S. Eureste said he decided to cancel Houston's event after the details of the investigation were released.
ARTURO EURESTE: I'm hoping this becomes something that we can all understand and process. Women are - it's very important for women to be protected from these kind of things.
ADKISON: Similar events were canceled in San Antonio and Corpus Christi. In Tucson, Arizona, though, the Cesar Chavez and Dolores Huerta march and rally will go on, but now under a new name - the Comunidad y Labor Unity Fair. Eva Carrillo Dong, one of the event's organizers, says its main purpose is to educate workers and immigrants about their rights.
EVA CARRILLO DONG: That's why we're going to continue to have this event. It's about the people and it's about the struggles, not about one single man.
ADKISON: Across the country, dozens of schools and streets are named for Cesar Chavez, and efforts are underway to rename them after Chavez's longtime co-organizer, Dolores Huerta, came forward saying she, too, was sexually abused by Chavez. The New York Times reported Chavez pressured her into having sex once and then later raped her. She got pregnant both times, she told the Times, and had other families raise those children. Here's Austin City Council member Vanessa Fuentes.
VANESSA FUENTES: Dolores Huerta is a living leader of the labor movement, and her sharing her story, her personal experiences with Cesar Chavez is something that we have to take seriously.
ADKISON: In Tarrant County, which includes Fort Worth, union activist Tevita Uhatafe says the progress Chavez stood for isn't defined by Chavez's own actions.
TEVITA UHATAFE: The movement is bigger than one person. It's the people that move our movement.
ADKISON: United Farm Workers of America, the union founded by Chavez himself, said it would not participate in any Cesar Chavez Day events.
For NPR News, I'm Michael Adkison in Houston. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.
NPR transcripts are created on a rush deadline by an NPR contractor. This text may not be in its final form and may be updated or revised in the future. Accuracy and availability may vary. The authoritative record of NPR’s programming is the audio record.