Cesar Chavez once lived in Delano, home of the United Farm Workers' first HQ. In the wake of sexual abuse allegations against him, many in the city struggle over removing his name from public spaces.
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Tomorrow is the holiday that for years has been known as Cesar Chavez Day. But earlier this month, The New York Times published a bombshell investigation alleging the late civil rights leader sexually abused and assaulted women and girls in the 1960s and '70s. Some states have scrambled to rename the day, and farmworker communities are reeling, especially in central California, which became the cradle of Chavez's farm labor movement. KVPR's Kerry Klein has the story.
KERRY KLEIN, BYLINE: 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. Monique Reynoso (ph) says everyone here either works in those fields or knows somebody who does.
MONIQUE REYNOSO: This is what drives and fuels our city.
KLEIN: Reynoso works for a youth advocacy group, but her parents were farmworkers and their parents. She leads me 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.
REYNOSO: And it really showcases some of our local farm labor movement leaders, as well as, you know, the diverse faces of Delano.
KLEIN: One of the most prominent faces on the mural is Cesar Chavez. He lived in Delano for nine years. It was home to the first headquarters of the United Farm Workers labor union, which he cofounded. He's long been considered a local hero. As Reynoso looks up at his portrait, she says the allegations against him are heartbreaking. He was one of her role models, but she thinks this mural and the farmworker narrative don't need him anymore.
REYNOSO: He's just one individual amongst, you know, thousands of people who have been fighting for this and continue to fight for it.
KLEIN: Across California, statues of Chavez are being torn down, and elected officials are moving to erase his name from public spaces. Some in Delano are pushing for similar changes. A school district voted last week to rename Cesar E. Chavez High School. And city council member, Bryan Osorio, says leaders will discuss renaming Cesar Chavez Park.
BRYAN OSORIO: Everything that we want to take into account for how does accountability look like at the Delano level, it will be on the table.
KLEIN: But he's not sure the city council will vote to make changes because there's a lot of resistance here. Chavez's union helped transform conditions for farmworkers with higher pay, work breaks, even bathrooms, which weren't guaranteed in the fields. That changed people's lives. And that's why Osorio says many are struggling with the allegations against Chavez. Some even feel angry at his accusers.
OSORIO: This man was a huge part of Delano's history - is still part of Delano's history. And, you know, there's always going to be folks who are skeptical.
KLEIN: That includes Armando Polito (ph). He's a grape picker. Like a lot of residents, he says he doesn't believe Chavez's accusers.
ARMANDO POLITO: (Speaking Spanish).
KLEIN: He says he thinks everything is a lie, and they made it up because they came out with it now after Chavez died. He asks, "why didn't they bring it up while he was alive?" One of Chavez's accusers was Dolores Huerta. She was also one of his allies and cofounded the UFW with him. She explained why she waited to come forward in an interview with Latino USA.
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DOLORES HUERTA: When people say why didn't you leave? Why didn't you tell people? Well, this is why. Because I felt that my coming out and saying that would have hurt the movement.
KLEIN: Two other women who came forward told The New York Times they did speak up previously, but nothing came of it. Whether or not the city ultimately erases Chavez's name from public spaces, some think this is an opportunity to highlight other pivotal labor leaders, like Filipino organizer Larry Itliong. Rogelio Gadiano (ph) is Filipino and grew up in Delano. He leads tours of local historical sites and wishes Itliong were better known.
ROGELIO GADIANO: A lot of Filipinos to this day - we always say without Larry Itliong, there'd be no Cesar Chavez.
KLEIN: Itliong organized farm workers for decades before Chavez and Huerta came along. And Filipino workers started the 1965 Delano grape strike, which later led to the founding of the UFW.
GADIANO: We got buried in history. We were the spark, the ultimate spark.
KLEIN: Whatever happens with Chavez's legacy, Gadiano hopes this can be the spark for more informed conversations about farmworker history. For NPR News, I'm Kerry Klein in Delano, California.
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