'It was my cross to bear.' Reconciling with Cesar Chavez's abuse

0:00For decades, the name Cesar Chavez has stood for activism and leadership. I'm in New York today as a part of a nationwide tour on a campaign to ask consumers to refrain from buying California table grapes until the farm workers... But perceptions of who Cesar Chavez was changed dramatically this week when a New York Times investigation found that the widely lionized civil rights leader had sexually abused girls and women. The Times investigation, based on interviews with several women as well as Chavez's close allies and relatives, got a swift reaction. Here in California, some events that were meant to celebrate Cesar Chavez Day have been canceled.

0:48That's a state holiday here, commemorating Chavez's birthday. And cities across the state are considering renaming schools and streets that bear his name. Here's California Governor Gavin Newsom. We're just going to have to reflect on all of that and, you know, reflect on a farm workers movement and a labor movement that was much bigger than one man and celebrate that. So much of the story about that movement centers on a key figure, Dolores Huerta. Yes, we can see the president. Yes, we can see the president. Huerta popularized that chant as well as co-founded alongside Chavez what would become the United Farm Workers of America.

1:33That's a labor union for farm workers. Huerta told the New York Times that she, too, was abused by Chavez when their organizing efforts were just beginning. Consider this. Dolores Huerta built a lasting movement with Cesar Chavez. And after waiting decades, she has finally decided to share the story of how Chavez abused her.

1:58From NPR, I'm Elsa Chang.

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2:44Dolores Huerta told the New York Times that she felt pressured to have sex with Cesar Chavez while on a work trip in 1960. Then, six years later, after they had founded the Union for Farm Workers, she says Chavez raped her. Both of these encounters resulted in pregnancies that Huerta felt forced to conceal. She gave the children to other people to raise. Shortly after that Time story came out, Huerta spoke to journalist Maria Hinojosa, host of Latino USA. Maria joins us now. Hi, Maria. Hey, how you doing? Good. I want to talk about this incredibly difficult interview you had with Huerta this week.

3:25I know that you have interviewed her before. How did she sound to you this week? Was it just so fundamentally different in this new set of facts? It was profoundly different. I've interviewed Dolores on multiple occasions in all different kinds of settings. She, and I don't like to use this word because I don't want to be disrespectful, but she felt broken. What people need to remember is that Dolores Huerta did not get an advanced copy of the New York Times article. That means that she's reading it in real time like everybody else. And if we were shocked, you can only imagine Dolores Huerta reading the extent to which Cesar Chavez was a manipulator, a groomer, and somebody who assaulted and raped.

4:10An abuser of girls. It sounded like Dolores did not know that. Right. An abuser of girls. I mean, this is pretty horrible. So Dolores, if you know Dolores, she is the most positive, energetic 90-something-year-old that I have ever met. I mean, she never tires. She's always optimistic. So it was really painful to hear her in this shock and emotional turmoil. There was one moment that especially burned into me when I listened. You asked about why she chose for decades not to come forward with her story of Chavez's abuse and her choice to support him in spite of it. And I want to play that part of her answer.

5:00I do believe that that would have been the end of the movement pretty much at the very, very beginning. and I can see all of the accomplishments, you know, the leadership that came out of the movement, you know, the millions of farm workers that have been helped throughout the United States of America. And it was my personal pain. It was my personal problem. And, you know, I think it was worth it, you know, because it was my cross to birth. I found that heartbreaking. She said her silence was worth it. It was her cross to bear, a cross that she bore alone. That was pretty gut-wrenching. What we have to understand is the conditions of the Latinos and Latinas and others that Dolores Huerta and Cesar Chavez helped to organize.

5:57Right. The conditions were so bad that she's like, I'll just take this one because I know that what's more important is these tens of thousands of people who are being mistreated by people in power. So to me, that's the sad part. Right. It's like, God, our situation is so bad that a woman is prepared to keep this silent. That the rape is the lesser evil to reckon with. exactly, that the rape is the lesser evil. I think, unfortunately, what we're seeing now is essentially what Dolores Huerta was worried about. Yes, there is sympathy right now for Dolores, but I have also heard and seen people who are like, why didn't you say anything?

6:40You must have known this and that. In fact, I asked her, you know, you are a brilliant woman. How is it possible that you didn't know? A brilliant woman who always spoke up, was known for that. Who always spoke up. I think the thing about being with somebody who is a master manipulator, as we are realizing that Cesar Chavez was, he was a master strategist, also a master strategist manipulator, is that she's having a very difficult time putting those two things together, right? This is somebody who she trusted. And I think the way I kind of look at it is that Dolores Huerta and Cesar Chavez worked together for decades, right?

7:24But it's like Cesar Chavez really wanted the spotlight, whereas Dolores Huerta has always been and continues to be. It's not about me. It's about the struggle. It's about other people. It's about the other victims of Cesar Chavez. And so I think what we're watching in real time is a woman who is 95 having to come to terms with, at this point in her life, having to publicly say, I am a survivor of rape. And for anybody who's been through it, like myself, that is the first step of a very long and painful journey. Not only did Dolores Huerta not tell the public about what had happened to her, she never confronted Cesar Chavez.

8:09And you asked her about that. And this is how she thinks about that decision now. Did you ever confront Cesar Chavez about his attacks on you? You know what? I never did. And I guess that's the one thing that I'm sorry about, because God knows, had I done that, maybe in some way it would have prevented other women and girls. I mean, it sounds like she's wrestling now with some guilt, some regret there. Yeah, but I think we have to put ourselves into the moment. 1960, 1966. A very outspoken Latina political activist organizer coming forward and saying, we didn't even use the term. Rape was not for being sexually assaulted by somebody who you knew, who was your boss, who was your friend.

9:04We understood rape to be, oh, you're in a dark alley with a knife on your chin. Well, we know that the majority of rapes happen between people who know each other. So thinking that Dolores Huerta could come forward and say this, she would have been taken down. She would have been erased. They would have said she was crazy. Eres una loca. How dare you do this? And she absolutely would have, I believe, disappeared from the movement. and Cesar Chavez would have remained in his position of power and appreciating the idolatry and who knows, abusing how many other women and girls. Well, Maria, there is just so much reckoning happening right now among labor activists, Latino communities, among us Californians.

9:46I mean, we see Cesar Chavez's name emblazoned everywhere in this state. This man, he's come to symbolize something larger than his own life, right? A whole movement. So let me ask you, what do you think happens to that movement now when the man behind the movement has now been so widely condemned? Well, I think we have to really think about putting men in these, you know, positions of power where they are idolized. I mean, we are realizing that in our own country right now, right? Like what can happen if a man has unchecked power, right? I think actually this is a moment to talk, and I'm going to use Dolores Huerta's words, which is she always talks about people power.

10:31So I think it's going to become the movement. It's going to be about the farm worker movement. I think this is also going to be very painful for Dolores Huerta. I think she is struggling with this horrible reality of being a survivor. But I think for her, I imagine her scene, all of this being painted over is also going to be another heartbreak. So I think the movement has to be, we're going to maintain the movement. And there's a lot of work to do, by the way, in terms of Latinos and Latinas and visibility and our power in this country. So I guess my concern is, you know, Dolores is a very strong 95 years old.

11:13She's about to turn 96. But this is a very painful journey for her. So kind of imagining that she's going to be up there saying, all right, here's what's next. She's going to need some time. Journalist Maria Hinojosa, host of Latino USA. Thank you so much for sharing your thoughts and this interview with all of us. Appreciate the time. Thank you. This episode was produced by Alejandra Marquez-Hanse with audio engineering by Ted Meebane. It was edited by Courtney Dorney. Our executive producer is Sammy Yenigan. And we also wanted to say thanks to our Consider This Plus listeners who support the work of NPR journalists and help keep public radio strong.

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