We are saddened and deeply disturbed by the sexual abuse allegations that have surfaced recently involving the late labor leader Cesar Chavez. We stand with the survivors who have bravely come forward about their experiences: Ana Murguia, Debra Rojas, and Dolores Huerta.
Many folks in our communities have looked to figures like Chavez as symbols of resistance. While we can acknowledge Chavez’s contributions to labor rights and the farmworkers movement, we must also contend with the deep harm and violence he caused, using the power and influence he had access to. This moment of reckoning is a reminder that we must center healing, survivor voices, and collective care, not just symbolism.
It cannot be overstated: there can be no place for abuse in our movements. Women and children should not have to pay the cost while individual men are deified in the name of so-called justice. This moment calls on us to challenge the ways in which we put individual figures on pedestals at the expense of those who are often made invisible and relegated to the sidelines. This moment also calls on us to interrogate how patriarchy impacts our struggle for freedom. The fight for worker rights, immigrant rights, and racial justice cannot be isolated from the rights of women and children.
Collective liberation requires recognizing that all our struggles are intertwined. Transformative justice requires not only uplifting survivors and making space for their stories, but also grappling with how we in the present can build towards a future in which true accountability, repair, and safety can manifest beyond punishment, shame, and control. Our movements are larger than any single individual. We will keep fighting for everyone, including those whom history has tried to erase.
