By Jim Carlton
SAN FRANCISCO -- Tony Rivera has lived much of his life looking up to Cesar Chavez. As a teen he attended a rally with the Hispanic labor and civil-rights icon and for years he has lived across from a school bearing Chavez's name and a giant mural of his likeness.
Yet now, the 45-year-old Mexican immigrant sides with a snowballing movement to erase Chavez's name from public view after allegations that he abused women and girls at the height of his prominence in the 1960s and '70s. One of his accusers, Dolores Huerta, co-founded the United Farm Workers Union with Chavez and said she was pressured into sex with him once and forced a second time, both encounters resulting in children.
"It's really upsetting, not only for me but for Dolores, the woman he's accused of violating," said Rivera.
As he swept his sidewalk, Rivera nodded to the mural of Chavez that towered above children playing Thursday at Cesar Chavez Elementary School. "I mean it's just like right there, literally a beacon," he said. "I think they have to remove the mural, and his name. I don't know how easy it would be, but Dolores Huerta Elementary is an option."
Across America, states, towns and organizations are racing to strip Chavez's name off buildings, boulevards, parks and parades. Nearly 80 public schools spanning 15 states are named after Chavez, according to the Institute of Education Sciences. California has the most, with 43.
Chavez's legacy looms largest in California, where the progressive icon, who died more than 30 years ago, did much of his civil-rights work. On Thursday, state lawmakers moved to rename Cesar Chavez Day on March 31 to Farmworkers Day, while cities including Los Angeles and San Francisco began looking into ways to scrub his name from local infrastructure and honors.
"It is devastating to think of the decades of pain they endured while the world and our movements unwittingly celebrated their abuser," San Francisco Supervisor Jackie Fielder, who represents the heavily Latino Mission District, said in a statement referring to the alleged victims. "My office will support community efforts to remove Cesar Chavez's name."
The New York Times reported on Wednesday that multiple women said Chavez abused them as young girls or women. They said they kept silent for decades to avoid damaging his legacy. The Wall Street Journal hasn't independently verified the sexual-abuse allegations.
Chavez's name has long been revered in Latino communities like San Francisco's Mission District, where a major thoroughfare was renamed for him after he died in 1993. Some residents objected at the time, preferring the former name of Army Street.
Now locals are again debating whether the street, which cuts across a swath of apartment complexes, car shops and mom-and-pop businesses, should be renamed once more. At his family's window-tinting shop, Francisco Valencia said it should. Unlike many Latinos here, Valencia said he was never a fan of Chavez.
"He was calling us wetbacks," said Valencia, 64, taking a break from a customer's white SUV to consider the new allegations. "This, now, is worse."
Valencia was referring to comments Chavez made decades ago criticizing immigrants who entered the country illegally for driving down wages.
Down the road at El Honduras restaurant, owner Yanizef Gutierrez said she wanted to be sure she wouldn't have to pay for any street-renaming expenses. "It'll not be a problem if they pay for all the changes associated with my business," the 30-year-old Gutierrez said as she and her staff prepared for the lunch rush. "I don't know what happened. I don't have a problem with his name being there or removed."
Walking his dog nearby, Samuel Caleas said he has lived through two name changes of the street since moving into his apartment in 1984 and believes nothing should be done without more investigation.
"Why after more than 30 years did she keep these secrets?" the 66-year-old Caleas said, referring to Huerta, who has said she did so to protect the farmworker movement. "It's a very confusing situation."
Back at Cesar Chavez Elementary School, Rivera said his longtime hero crossed a line and should pay for it. As a high school student in an East Bay suburb, Rivera said he participated in one of Chavez's "No Grapes" protests for farmworker protections and attended a speech by the progressive labor leader in San Jose.
"It was amazing to see him, to see someone fight for us," Rivera said.
His voice cracking, Rivera added that he was happy that Huerta was able to speak out. "It would be horrible to die with that secret," he said. "And if the other victims choose to speak out, we all should listen and support them."
Write to Jim Carlton at Jim.Carlton@wsj.com
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
March 19, 2026 20:31 ET (00:31 GMT)
Copyright (c) 2026 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.
