Cesar Chavez sexual assault claims leave Tri-City Latino leaders reeling
Pasco Councilman Leo Perales has a poster of Cesar Chavez and copies of his books in his office. The items serve as reminder of the labor activist and the farmworker rights movement he helped lead.
But recent news of sexual abuse allegations against Chavez has changed Perales’s perspective on the man he once admired.
Last week, the New York Times published an investigation reporting allegations that Chavez sexually abused girls and women during the 1960s and ‘70s, including fellow farmworker leader Dolores Huerta. Chavez died in 1993.
Though there are no known public references to Cesar Chavez in the Tri-Cities, Latino leaders in the area are reacting to the allegations and reflecting on their connections to Chavez.
Local leaders reflect
Perales considered Chavez to be a pillar in the Latino community, saying there are not many Latino and Mexican American leaders who he and others looked up to for inspiration.
During his time on the Pasco City Council, Perales previously talked about naming streets or parks in the city after Chavez. Now, he says, he’s not looking to do that.
Perales previously attended a United Farm Workers rally in Sunnyside and met activists who knew Chavez.
“The movement wasn’t just about one person,” Perales said. He wore a hat with a UFW logo to the March 23 city council meeting.
Gabriel Portugal is the president of the League of United Latin American Citizens (LULAC) chapter in the Tri-Cities.
He told the Tri-City Herald that the allegations are a sensitive topic to discuss.
LULAC’s national office made a statement saying that the organization “condemns any form of sexual violence against women and minors and strongly denounces the actions alleged involving the late Cesar Chavez.”
Impacts across the nation
Communities across the country are grappling with the allegations.
Washington state won’t recognize March 31 as Cesar Chavez Day. In 2018, Washington passed a law recognizing “Cesar Chavez Day” on March 31, the birthday of the co-founder of the United Farm Workers union.
The Washington State Standard reported that Gov. Bob Ferguson said he wouldn’t be issuing a proclamation to honor Chavez later this month.
Buildings, streets and parks once named after Chavez are being renamed.
Some California schools are revamping history lessons.
