Colorado leaders race to scrub Cesar Chavez’s name from public events and parks after sex abuse accusations

GREELEY, Colo. — Leaders around the country are racing to scrub Cesar Chavez's name from parks, schools and streets after a New York Times investigation accused the charismatic leader of the Farm Worker Rights Movement of sexually assaulting multiple girls in the 1970s and fellow activist Dolores Huerta in the 1960s.

Chavez traveled to Colorado multiple times, where he visited farm workers in the San Luis Valley and leaders of the Chicano movement in Denver. Farm workers made up 4.1% of Colorado's workforce in 2023. 

At the University of Northern Colorado, Chavez’s name adorns the Cesar Chavez Cultural Center, which works to “empower students, celebrate Latine culture, and build community across campus.” More than a quarter of undergraduate students at UNC identify as Latino. 

“The university is reviewing this matter and will evaluate appropriate next steps consistent with university policies and consultation with campus stakeholders,” Sydney Kern, public relations manager for the university, said in a written statement Thursday. 

In Denver, leaders took more immediate action by tearing down a bust of Chavez and covering signs displaying his name at Cesar Chavez Park in West Denver. 

The city will rename the park and a March 31 holiday. Denver Mayor Mike Johnston said that day will now be called “Sí Se Puede Day,” — referring to a rallying cry of the Farmworker Rights Movement that roughly translates to “Yes we can.” The phrase was coined by Huerta in 1972 after the governor of Arizona moved to criminalize boycotts and prevent farm workers from unionizing.

“We will not let the sins of one man set back the commitment of a community who has fought for decades to deliver on the fundamental belief that everyone is entitled to justice,” Johnston said at a press conference Thursday.

Colorado lawmakers advanced legislation March 23 to rename Cesar Chavez Day “Farm Workers Day,” at the state level. The bill, which Majority Leader Monica Duran and Representative Lorena García sponsored, passed a committee vote with unanimous support. 

“The accomplishments from the farm workers' labor movement are due to the sacrifices of farm workers, especially the women in the movement, and they deserve to be acknowledged for everything they did for future generations,” said Rep. Lorena García, D-Adams County.