César Chávez murals, statues already removed from campuses, parks

SAN FRANCISCO - Organizations across the country and California – the birthplace of the United Farm Workers movement – have already begun removing depictions of the late Latino labor leader César Chávez from public spaces after the explosive allegations in the New York Times revealed this week that he allegedly raped and sexually assaulted women and girls decades ago.

Those allegations included that Chávez sexually molested underage girls and twice impregnated his colleague and longtime labor ally, Dolores Huerta, who co-founded the UFW with him.  

She described how Chávez manipulated her into having sex with him one time, and raped her a second. She stayed quiet all these years, she said, because she didn't want to detract from the good work they were doing in the civil rights movement to get farmwokers fair pay and better working conditions.

Chávez's family asked for the public to be fair to their father, who died in 1993, but they also said they were "shocked and saddened" to learn about his sexual activity nearly 50 years ago. 

Erasing Chávez's image

Many groups have already begun erasing images of Chávez from their public spaces, from college campuses to private homes. California lawmakers on Thursday said they will no longer honor March 31 as Cesar Chávez Day, and introduced emergency legislation to rename it Farmworkers Day.

Sonoma State

As of Thursday, at Sonoma State University, a mural featuring Chávez in the campus library has been covered, and a portrait has been removed from Stevenson Hall.

The university said in a statement that it will also consider "further thoughtful and appropriate courses of action."

A worker covered up a glass case and plaque bearing Chávez's image and biography with paper and tape.

San Francisco

In San Francisco, Richard Segovia, who owns the Latin Rock House at York and 25th streets in the Mission District painted over a section of a stunning mural of Latin greats that bore Chávez's image.

Now, the corner of his house has a big white blotch where the labor leader's likeness once was seen.

Fresno State

At Fresno State University in Fresno, Calif., workers covered up a statue of Chávez at the state school on Wednesday with a plywood box. The school is planning to fully remove the statue in the coming days.

In a message to the campus community, university President Saúl Jiménez-Sandoval said he was "deeply saddened and disturbed" by the allegations.

San Fernando, Santa Ana

In San Fernando, Calif., a city worker on Thursday covered up a Chávez plaque on a pedestal that once held a statue of the labor icon from Cesar E. Chávez Memorial Park. 

A similar situation played out at Santa Ana College, where crews covered up a mural at the Cesar Chávez Cove. The school also covered up a mural inside its Cesar Chávez Business and Computer Center. 

San Jose, Oakland 

And in San Jose, Calif., City Councilmember Peter Ortiz on Thursday said he and other city leaders have already made moves to remove Chávez's name from various places, including Cesar Chávez Plaza in downtown San Jose.

Oakland City Councilman Noel Gallo said his city will be considering what to do as well, with schools and libraries named after Chávez. 

"The Cesar Chávez library, probably like 10, or 12 years ago, we named the library," Gallosa said this week. "We're going to have to politically deal with that, renaming, because I don't think the public will understand or accept anything different." 

Denver, Colorado

Though Chávez's roots were in California, his reach spanned across the nation – as did the disgust with what he was accused of doing. 

Leaders in Texas, Arizona, Colorado and Washington have already canceled plans tied to Chavez or the upcoming holiday bearing his name.  

And in Denver, Colorado, facilities workers removed a bust of Chavez from Cesar Chávez Park. Leaders there said they plan to rename the park in the future. Instead, someone wrote "Dolores Huerta Park" on a piece of white paper lying near Chávez's dismantled bust instead. 

California