DAVIS, Calif. — The mayor of Davis issued a statement Thursday in response to newly reported allegations of sexual misconduct involving César Chávez, while the city separately announced it will cancel its annual celebration honoring the late farmworker leader.
In the statement, the mayor referenced recent reporting by The New York Times and other outlets that broke the news this week about allegations of sexual abuse.
“Yesterday, The New York Times and other major newspapers published a profoundly disturbing series of accounts regarding a pattern of sexual abuse and rape by César Chávez, the long-recognized leader of the farmworker movement and champion of civil rights for Latinos,” the mayor said.
The statement cited accounts from Dolores Huerta, Debra Rojas and others, describing them as evidence of “a profoundly disturbing pattern of rape, sexual abuse and abuse of power.”
“These women held onto these painful accounts and did not share them for years because they did not want to harm the farmworker movement,” the mayor said.
The mayor said the women speaking out marked an important moment.
“But yesterday was the day for the truth. It was time to tell their stories and to share this painful past with us,” the statement read. “This took more than courage. It took the moral fortitude to do what is right and to share a hard and painful truth so that we would all learn from history. I stand by these women and support them in their bravery.”
The statement also noted the impact on the farmworker community and said the movement was bigger than any one person.
“I can only imagine the grief that the farmworker community must be experiencing today,” the mayor said. “But the farmworker movement was never built by one man. It was a collective action, built on the fearlessness of thousands of workers, organizers and families who put their lives on the line to fight for dignity and justice.”
The mayor added that the legacy of the movement belongs to those who contributed to it, including Huerta and others who have come forward.
“That fight continues, and the farmworker legacy belongs to everyone who fought this battle, and who continues to fight, to protect farmworker rights, including Dolores Huerta and the other brave women who spoke out yesterday,” the statement read.
The mayor also expressed support for survivors
“Today, I hold those women in my heart, and for all who have experienced sexual abuse, know that you are not alone. We hear you,” the mayor said. “To Dolores Huerta and the others who came forward, thank you. Your courage has created a legacy of its own. And to farmworkers not only in California but throughout the nation, we will continue to support you in your fight for human rights and dignity.”
In a separate statement issued the same day, the City of Davis announced it will not hold its annual César Chávez Celebration this year.
“For many years, the City of Davis has hosted a César Chávez Celebration. This year, in light of the recent information about Mr. Chávez’s sexual mistreatment of women and girls, the City will not hold such an event,” the city said.
Instead, the city said it plans to organize a future event centered more generally around immigrant contributions.
“Instead, the City, working through its Human Relations Commission, will focus its efforts on a future event that supports our immigrant community and recognizes the contributions they bring to Davis, making it a wonderful place to live, work and recreate,” the statement read. The city added that the date and location of the new event have not yet been determined.
The statement also reiterated the city’s support for survivors and worker rights.
“The Davis community stands strong in support of survivors of sexual misconduct and of people whose voices have been silenced or minimized,” the city said. “We remain advocates of farmworkers and workers’ rights. We strive to create spaces where all people are safeguarded from harm.”
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FDR, JFK, LBJ, & “The Donald” all had mistresses. It’s a big deal only when a labor leader is a pedophile. Heck, Thomas Jefferson had a 14-year-old (slave!) mistress! After the Epstein files, it’s hard to get excited about this stuff.
This sounds quite a bit like normalizing rape.
I’m sorry you are a man and so can’t possibly understand what it is to be raped, and so it’s “hard to get excited about this stuff.”
You are normalizing raping 14-year-olds. You think she was his “mistress” and had any choice in the matter?
How indecent of you.
“I’m sorry you are a man and so can’t possibly understand what it is to be raped, and so it’s “hard to get excited about this stuff.””
A man can’t be raped?
And DG, I made the same point about mistress vs. pedophile, but you dumped that. You are really in a mood these days.
I see what you are saying now. That the rich and powerful get away with it and people treat it as no big deal, which is true, and an understandable sentiment that is fury-inducing and not OK.
But it’s also horrible that a labor leader did this and none of it should be minimized. We should “get excited” about *all* of it and not look away from *any* of it.
And we need to hold the men resposnible to account for *all* of it. Period. No matter if they are rich and powerful or poor.
“There is no single, definitive count of every Cesar Chavez statue in the U.S., they are part of a massive tribute to the labor leader, including over 65 parks, schools, and landmarks in California alone.”
It’s time to get busy tearing down statues and changing the names of these parks, schools and landmarks in CA.
The only people who deeply care about this are his alleged victims and those who think it’s important to have heroes.
The rest of us go about our lives without being devastated (and probably never stopped eating grapes in the first place). Not sure if they still have enough illegal immigrants picking them, at this point.
Stop naming places after people, and you won’t have this particular problem. In any case, enjoy your self-righteous naming (and renaming) conventions, I guess.
Might Army Street return to its original name (in S.F.) now? (I do realize that S.F. doesn’t think a military is necessary, though. Or at least, not at the disposal of Trump.)
I’m still looking forward to Mt. Trumpmore, just for my own amusement.
“Stop naming places after people”
Bingo
and we need a bill to compensate people who current live on CC streets
What evidence, apart from his endless stream of empty words, is there to support the mayor’s claim that (s)he and the council are “advocates of farmworkers and workers’ rights”?
He?