All posts tagged: Chavez

Epstein accusations fly in Senate after César Chávez Monument row

Epstein accusations fly in Senate after César Chávez Monument row

Published by Sam Flores

U.S. Sen. Mike Lee, R-Utah (left) and U.S. Sen. Martin Heinrich (D-N.M.) Chip Somodevilla | Kayla Bartkowski | Getty Images Jeffrey Epstein allegations flew during a spat between Sens. Mike Lee, R-Utah, and Martin Heinrich, D-N.M., over the fate of the César Chávez National Monument. Heinrich, the ranking member of the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee, objected to a bill on Tuesday to defund and close the monument after multiple women accused Chávez — an icon in the farm labor movement — of sexual assault. Heinrich objected to the bill, citing concerns that erasing the monument would diminish the work of other leaders in the farm labor movement. “I agree unequivocally that we should no longer have a monument named after Cesar Chavez,” he said on the Senate floor after objecting. “But we absolutely should not erase the monuments telling of the story of the farm labor movement. That is a story that belongs to many people, including the survivors of Chavez’s violence.” Chávez, who died in 1993, was accused by several women who …

The books that created the César Chávez myth — and those that brought him down

The books that created the César Chávez myth — and those that brought him down

Published by Sam Flores

Covered marquees. Downed statues. Painted-over murals. A canceled holiday. California has effectively exorcised César Chávez from the public sphere just weeks after a New York Times investigation found two women who said the legendary labor leader sexually assaulted them when they were teenage girls in the 1970s. Just as explosive was the revelation by his longtime lieutenant, Dolores Huerta, that he raped her in the 1960s. My prediction for the next place we’ll see a Chávez purge: books about him, which number into the dozens and span from academic treatises to children’s tales. But before critics relegate those texts to the banned section, folks should read some of them to see how writers helped establish the Chávez myth and propagated it for decades. The books that created the Chávez legend The tendency to elevate him above other activists was there from the start. In 1967, John Gregory Dunne published “Delano: The Story of the California Grape Strike,” which saw the author (and husband to Joan Didion) capture the essence of el movimiento in its earliest …

In a town close to the farmworker movement, some struggle to process Chavez allegations : NPR

In a town close to the farmworker movement, some struggle to process Chavez allegations : NPR

Published by Sam Flores

Signage outside of The Forty Acres, the first headquarters for the United Farm Workers of America, founded by Cesar Chavez in Delano, Calif., on March 29. Jennifer Emerling for NPR hide caption toggle caption Jennifer Emerling for NPR DELANO, Calif. – A few hours north of Los Angeles, the small city of Delano is surrounded by miles and miles of grapevines, orange groves and almond orchards. According to Monike Reynozo, everyone here either works in those fields, or knows someone who does. “This is what drives and fuels our city,” she said. Reynozo works for a youth advocacy group known as Loud For Tomorrow, but she said her parents were farmworkers, and their parents before them. On a recent spring morning, she’s walking down an alley to a brightly colored mural that covers the side of a building in the center of town. It shows people in sun hats harvesting fruit, and a little girl proudly holding a bunch of plump, purple grapes. “It really showcases some of our local farm labor movement leaders as …

Newsom signs bill renaming California’s César Chávez Day 

Newsom signs bill renaming California’s César Chávez Day 

Published by Sam Flores

California Gov. Gavin Newsom (D) signed a bill to rename the state’s holiday honoring disgraced civil rights leader César Chávez Day to “Farmworkers Day” on Thursday.  Several states have taken similar steps to remove Chávez’s name from official charters and celebrations following accusations that the late union leader sexually abused young girls.  Two women accused… Source link

Why I’m not taking down my César Chávez photo

Why I’m not taking down my César Chávez photo

Published by Sam Flores

The framed photo of César Chávez and Dolores Huerta sits in my personal office on a bookshelf crammed with volumes about California and the American West. The two are at a 1973 United Farm Workers convention, presiding over the union they co-founded. After years of victories in the name of campesinos, the group and its charismatic leaders seem ready for what’s next. A UFW banner emblazoned with the group’s famous black Aztec eagle logo hangs in the center of the picture, making Chávez and Huerta look like equals. But they’re not. He’s speaking from a podium, looking down and appearing cast in darkness due to Chávez blue vest melding into his black hair and brown skin. She’s by his side clasping her hands, wearing a colorful blouse that pales in radiance to Huerta’s hopeful face as she looks at the crowd before them. It’s the only picture of historical figures that I display at home, and it’s in a place where I’m guaranteed to look at it. It has long served as my secular version …

Women leading farmworker movement won’t let it be defined by Cesar Chavez

Women leading farmworker movement won’t let it be defined by Cesar Chavez

Published by Sam Flores

This story was originally reported by Chabeli Carrazana, Shefali Luthra and Marissa Martinez of The 19th. Meet Chabeli, Shefali and Marissa and read more of their reporting on gender, politics and policy. Monica Ramirez has spent much of her life spotlighting the pervasiveness of sexual violence against women farmworkers. She, like many in that movement, considered civil rights leader Cesar Chavez an icon. Since allegations came to light this week that Chavez sexually assaulted women and girls as young as 12 — including fellow movement leader Dolores Huerta — Ramirez and the larger farmworker community have been left reeling. Now, they’re trying to reconcile how this man who so many revered — whose name is on streets, schools and even a holiday — could perpetrate the violence that has plagued women farmworkers for decades. The community has been “shaken to its foundation,” said Ramirez, the founder of Justice for Migrant Women, a civil rights organization focusing on farmworker and migrant women. She and other leaders are now trying to push forward the farmworker movement and …

Women Farmworkers Who Built Their Own Fight Against Sexual Assault Cope With Chavez Allegations

Women Farmworkers Who Built Their Own Fight Against Sexual Assault Cope With Chavez Allegations

Published by Sam Flores

NEW YORK (AP) — Almost two decades ago, legendary labor rights activist Dolores Huerta joined Mónica Ramírez at a Chicago event to promote the Bandana Project, a campaign Ramírez had launched to raise awareness about sexual violence against women farmworkers. Huerta spoke there about the need to educate women farmworkers about their rights and empower them to speak out about sexual exploitation that is both widespread and underreported among agricultural field workers. Little did anyone know at the time that Huerta herself had been sexually abused at the hands of icon César Chavez, who in 1962 co-founded the organization now known the United Farm Workers with Huerta. The allegations against Chavez by Huerta and other women and girls show that the culture of fear and intimidation that enables sexual abuse in agricultural fields had also for many years existed within top ranks of the male-dominated labor movement that fought for farmworker rights. At the same time, advocates like Ramírez say the decision by Huerta and other women to speak out — first revealing their allegations …

Cesar Chavez sexual abuse allegations and legacy : NPR

Cesar Chavez sexual abuse allegations and legacy : NPR

Published by Sam Flores

Cesar Chavez attends a Labour Party press conference in the United Kingdon on September 17, 1974. Les Lee/Getty Images/Hulton Archive hide caption toggle caption Les Lee/Getty Images/Hulton Archive A version of this essay first appeared in the Up First newsletter. Subscribe here so you don’t miss the next one. You’ll get the news you need to start your day, plus a little fun every weekday and Sundays. My phone kept going off on Wednesday afternoon with texts from different friends — each wanting to trade thoughts on what felt like the second death of Cesar Chavez. His first death happened on April 23, 1993. He was 66 and died of natural causes. Over 50,000 people attended his funeral in Delano, Calif. And he was posthumously awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 1994. At that time, I was in elementary school in suburban Chicago, far from California. It was then that I first learned of Chavez and his movement’s hard-fought efforts to secure better wages and improved working conditions for farm workers. As a daughter of janitors …

Cesar Chavez Mural Painted Over in San Francisco After Allegations

Cesar Chavez Mural Painted Over in San Francisco After Allegations

Published by José Betancourt

A mural of Cesar Chavez in San Francisco’s Mission District was painted over this week, becoming one of the first visible public reckonings with newly surfaced allegations of sexual abuse against the labor leader. The artwork, which covered the facade of the Latin Rock Music House at 25th and York Streets, was removed Wednesday by the building’s owner, Richard Segovia, along with artist Carlos “Kookie” Gonzalez, according to ABC7 Eyewitness News. The decision came days after a New York Times investigation detailed allegations that Chavez abused women and girls connected to the United Farm Workers movement.  Related Articles “I did this to let everyone know,” Segovia said. “Let’s get the ball rolling.”  Gonzalez, who has painted Chavez multiple times over the past three decades, said the allegations prompted an immediate reassessment. A planned new mural featuring Chavez has already been revised to instead center labor leader Dolores Huerta, who has publicly said she was among those harmed.  The removal marks a rapid shift in how Chavez is being publicly commemorated, particularly in California, where his legacy …

California’s Gov. Newsom supports move to rename César Chavez Day over alleged sexual abuse

California’s Gov. Newsom supports move to rename César Chavez Day over alleged sexual abuse

Published by Sam Flores

SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) — California Gov. Gavin Newsom said he supports a proposal to rename César Chavez Day as Farmworkers Day following stunning allegations of abuse against the revered labor leader. Political leaders in states and cities are considering similar moves after the allegations became public, accusing Chavez of sexually abusing girls and the co-founder of the United Farm Workers of America union, Dolores Huerta, decades ago. There also have been calls to alter memorials honoring the man who in the 1960s helped secure better wages and working conditions for farmworkers and had been admired by many Democratic leaders. Washington Gov. Bob Ferguson’s office said Thursday that he won’t issue a proclamation honoring César Chavez Day this year while Denver officials plan to rename their annual celebration. Events in Texas and in his home state of Arizona have been canceled at the request of the César Chavez Foundation. In 2000, California became the first state to designate Chavez’s birthday as a holiday. Schools were required to teach students about his involvement in the labor movement …