Cesar Chavez allegations spark Austin debate over street name, parade

Austin leaders are reconsidering Cesar Chavez’s legacy after new allegations of inappropriate sexual conduct involving women and at least one minor, including a proposed street renaming and questions over annual events.

Cesar Chavez, a national civil rights leader who organized and advocated for farmworkers, left a lasting legacy in Austin through repeated visits over the course of his life — a legacy now facing renewed scrutiny amid allegations of inappropriate sexual conduct involving women and at least one minor.

The accusations have left some Hispanic and Latino community leaders — who have spent years organizing parades and promoting memorials of Chavez — grappling with his namesake. One Mexican American advocacy group voted Tuesday morning to propose reversing the 1993 renaming of Austin’s First Street to Cesar Chavez Street. Organizers of Austin's annual Cesar Chavez celebration will vote Tuesday night on how, or even if, to proceed with the event.

The 25th Annual Cesar Chavez and Dolores Huerta Marcha de Justicia and Celebration is scheduled for March 28 at Terrazas Branch Library.

Allegations prompt new scrutiny of Cesar Chavez’s legacy

In recent months, cities nationwide have been canceling marches and parades celebrating Chavez, citing, at first, only "sensitive information." Chavez is the most visible figurehead of the Mexican American civil rights movement.

On Tuesday, two organizations related to Chavez — the Cesar Chavez Foundation and the United Farm Workers — revealed in separate statements that Chavez had been accused of engaging in inappropriate sexual relationships with women and minors.

The Cesar Chavez Foundation said the alleged conduct occurred during his tenure leading the United Farm Workers. The United Farm Workers added that, while some accounts involve private family matters, others include allegations of abuse involving young women or minors — conduct it described as "incompatible with our organization’s values."

The United Farm Workers said it will not be participating in any activities on Cesar Chavez Day, which takes place March 31, his birthday.

Austin organizers weigh future of annual Cesar Chavez march

The organizers of Austin’s Cesar Chavez celebration — including organizations like The Hispanic Advocates Business Leaders of Austin (HABLA), the League of United Latin American Citizens (LULAC), and People Organized in Defense of Earth and Her Resources (PODER) — are expected to vote Tuesday night on whether to proceed with, modify or cancel this year’s event.

Alicia Perez-Hodge, co-founder of HABLA and District VII director of LULAC in Austin, said she has been trying to get more information on the allegations ahead of a vote by the event’s executive council, but has come up short-handed. She said the local group is taking the national organizations’ statements seriously.

"We don't know, and we don't know the extent," Perez-Hodge said. "The most disturbing thing, of course, is whether it was a minor or minors, and I think those details are as of yet only allegations."

At least some local leaders, however, are interested in continuing to celebrate the civil rights movement that Chavez spearheaded. Susana Almanza, founder of PODER and a former event organizer, said she supports the continuation of this year’s event because of its broad political value and long-held importance to parts of the city’s Hispanic community.

"It’s not just Cesar Chavez. It’s about labor, it’s about farm workers, it’s about fair housing," Almanza said.

Almanza also expressed skepticism about the claims, suggesting they are political efforts to discredit Chavez similar to what she believes were efforts to undermine Martin Luther King Jr. King has long faced allegations of extramarital affairs, and at least one historian has pointed to FBI files containing disputed claims about his conduct.

Push emerges to rename Cesar Chavez Street in Austin

While Chavez’s efforts to organize farmworkers in Texas never matched the success he saw in California, he maintained a strong and recurring presence in Austin. From the 1960s to the 1980s, Chavez led rallies at the Texas Capitol, supported local labor strikes like the Chicano Huelga, spoke at University of Texas events and AFL-CIO conferences, and built ties with East Austin’s Mexican American community. In recent years, Austin has continued to recognize Chavez through annual marches and on the signs of one of its most prominent roadways: Cesar Chavez Street.

El Concilio, a coalition of Mexican American neighborhood associations rooted in East Austin, held a vote Tuesday morning to bring a resolution to the City Council proposing that Cesar Chavez Street be renamed back to First Street. The name was first changed in 1993, a few months after Chavez's death.

"That's something we don't tolerate or condone from anyone, much less someone with a high profile," said Gavino Fernandez Jr., an organizer with El Concilio.

Fernandez said the renaming effort was in its infancy, but the group hopes to take the proposal to Council Member José Velásquez to solicit opinions from the council.

The proposal, though, is expected to have its detractors. Perez-Hodge said such a recommendation is premature.

"The man hasn’t even been tried yet," she told the Statesman.