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Democrats are facing a reckoning after casting César Chavez as a near-sacred figure of the American left for decades— honoring him in DNC statements, White House proclamations and annual public tributes — but that long-running celebration is now colliding with newly surfaced abuse allegations.
Allegations that a 45-year-old Chavez sexually abused and groomed minors and adults, including one girl who was as young as 13 at the time of the abuse and another who became pregnant twice following their encounters, broke earlier this week after the New York Times published allegations from Chavez’s victims who largely remained silent for decades.
After the news, the Chavez-founded labor union, United Farm Workers, called the allegations “profoundly shocking” and decided to cancel its upcoming annual celebrations honoring him. Meanwhile, the César Chavez Foundation opted to do the same, describing the allegations as “disturbing” and noting they were “deeply shocked and saddened.”
CESAR CHAVEZ DAY CANCELED BY UNIONS AFTER ‘TROUBLING’ SEXUAL ALLEGATIONS AGAINST CIVIL RIGHTS LEADER
In 2010, President Barack Obama issued a presidential proclamation declaring March 31 César Chavez Day. You would have to go back to Bill Clinton, before César Chavez Day even existed, to find a Democratic Party president who did not honor him during the month of March. Obama began the tradition in 2009, issuing an official White House statement explicitly commemorating “César Chavez’s birthday” and praising his legacy as a civil rights and labor leader.
The following year, he announced the first official César Chavez Day to be held March 31 every year, and then subsequently, every year thereafter, put out a statement in honor of him. The tradition was then picked up when former President Joe Biden took office in 2021.
“The hypocrisy is rich, and Democrats’ praise for an abuser and rapist has-been is now exposed,” a national GOP strategist told Fox News Digital. “Any refusal to apologize or retract statements will be taken as Democrats supporting his disgusting behavior.”
After the allegations broke Wednesday, Fox News Digital reached out to a slew of Democrats, as well as the Democrat National Committee (DNC), all of whom recently professed public praise and support for Chavez.
“A movement is about the people—not any one person—and its strength lies in the values it upholds. We can honor the farmworker movement—and the generations who sacrificed to build it—while also confronting painful truths,” said Speaker Emerita Nancy Pelosi, who touted Chavez as a “champion for justice and dignity” on César Chavez Day in 2024. “No legacy is above accountability.”
“The farm workers movement and a labor movement are much bigger than one man — and we celebrate that and that will be our focus as we process what the next steps are,” said California Gov. Gavin Newsom, who, alongside his wife Jennifer, posted a video tribute to Chavez on March 31 of last year praising him as “a leader who fought for justice, dignity and fairness.”
However, in light of the new allegations, a source familiar with Newsom’s thinking said the governor was open to conversations with California lawmakers about proposed statutory changes in response.
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“I am keeping Dolores Huerta, Ana Murguia, and Debra Rojas in my heart, and I honor their strength and that of every woman and girl horrifically harmed by those in power,” said Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass, who posted a photo of herself with the late civil rights and labor union leader last year on his March 31 day of remembrance instituted by Obama.
“The sickening reality is that what Dolores, Ana, and Debra endured is not isolated, nor is it of the past. Real progress requires more than moments of reckoning – it demands sustained action to dismantle social, cultural, economic, and political structures that have hurt women throughout our history,” Bass continued. “Dolores and leaders like her inspired so many of us to activism. Mr. Chavez’s crimes do not diminish the courage of farm workers and workers everywhere who fight for their rights, equality for Latinos, and a stronger nation for everyone.”
On Thursday, Bass signed a proclamation of her own to rename César Chavez Day to “Farm Workers Day.” Meanwhile, Colorado Democrat Gov. Jared Polis, who also praised the activist on March 31 last year, said his state would not be celebrating the honorary holiday for Chavez “this year.”
“Nor does he plan to direct state agencies to take action to celebrate Cesar Chavez in light of these heinous allegations,” a Polis spokesperson added. “Further, he would encourage the legislature to consider drafting legislation to change the optional state holiday, which is in law.”
Other Democrats scrambled to put out statements after news of the accusations broke, with many mirroring the language from top Democrats that the movement Chavez helped create is bigger than just him.
The allegations against Chavez remained out of the public’s eye for many years, although, per the New York Times, there were earlier signs. According to their reporting, the victims they spoke to were not only embarrassed but also scared of tarnishing the reputation of someone so important to so many others and to the labor union and civil rights movements.
On Wednesday afternoon, Republican Governor of Texas, Greg Abbott, said that Texas will no longer be observing César Chavez Day on March 31, and that he was instructing all state agencies to comply. The Texas governor added that he plans to work in the upcoming legislative session to remove the day of remembrance from state law completely.
“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,” Abbot said.
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