Who Is Dolores Huerta, and What Is She Saying about Cesar Chavez?

In the 1950s and 1960s, America was going through quite the civil rights revolution, and lending his voice and activism to help the cause was Cesar Chavez. He famously helped protect the rights of migrant farm workers and developed the National Farm Workers Association (NFWA), alongside co-founder Dolores Huerta, which eventually became the United Farm Workers (UFW) labor union. With that being said, over the last few days, jaw-dropping allegations have been made against Chavez, as NBC News puts it, accuses him “of sexually abusing girls and women during his era leading the United Farm Workers.”

Now, 95-year-old Huerta is making an official statement about the Chavez allegations, accusing him of sexually assaulting her as well. She told her story in an article on Medium. 

Dolores Huerta Accuses Cesar Chavez of Sexual Assault that Led to Pregnancies 

Huerta starts off her Medium piece stating, “I am nearly 96 years old, and for the last 60 years have kept a secret because I believed that exposing the truth would hurt the farmworker movement I have spent my entire life fighting for.” However, after The New York Times investigation into Chavez, she realized she could no longer remain silent. Huerta goes on to say: 

“As a young mother in the 1960s, I experienced two separate sexual encounters with Cesar. The first time I was manipulated and pressured into having sex with him, and I didn’t feel I could say no because he was someone that I admired, my boss and the leader of the movement I had already devoted years of my life to. The second time I was forced, against my will, and in an environment where I felt trapped.

“I had experienced abuse and sexual violence before, and I convinced myself these were incidents that I had to endure alone and in secret. Both sexual encounters with Cesar led to pregnancies. I chose to keep my pregnancies secret and, after the children were born, I arranged for them to be raised by other families that could give them stable lives.”

Huerta also discusses how much her heart breaks learning that she wasn’t the only person victimized by Chavez. That he is alleged to have also assaulted other women, even “girls and teenagers.” Additionally, she implies that despite the wrongdoings of Chavez, she doesn’t want to lose sight of all the good that the movement for farm workers’ rights accomplished. You can read the full Huerta statement again on Medium.

Who is Dolores Huerta? 

At 95 years old, Huerta has spent almost her entire life fighting for the rights of others and causes bigger than herself. Once more, she co-founded the National Farm Workers Association, which later became the United Farm Workers. As part of her work with farmers, she is also credited with helping to organize the Delano Grape Strike of 1965. The five-year boycott would go on to be a win in the fight for workers’ rights, as a collective bargaining agreement was reached. 

Huerta is also a feminist, exemplified by her work with the Feminist Majority Foundation (FMF), a group dedicated to helping Latina women be more prominent in politics. She’s also been active in campaigning for women’s reproductive rights. 

For more on Dolores Huerta, be sure to check out the special PBS documentary, Dolores. It runs a little over an hour and a half.

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