Of the many disturbing reports regarding Cesar Chavez’s sexual predation, none rattled me as much as that of Dolores Huerta. For the co-founder of the United Farm Workers (with Chavez) to come forward at age 95 to reveal that Chavez had both raped and sexually manipulated her, was a very sad and brave act. After saying she has held her silence for six decades to preserve the gains of the farmworkers she fought so hard to aid, she also revealed that she bore two children as a result.
I always admired Huerta’s staunch lifelong integrity and fight to make conditions better, but now, we know just a little of what it cost her personally. I propose we honor this remarkable woman while she is alive and will know it. Let’s rename everything officially named Cesar Chavez to honor Dolores Huerta.
