KANSAS CITY, Mo. — One day after a newspaper investigation showed that César E. Chávez, the late United Farm Workers union leader who became a national icon for workers and civil rights, allegedly engaged in decades-long acts of child sexual abuse and adult rape, Kansas City leaders are now struggling with the question of what to do with the West Side boulevard that bears his name and the mural that bears his image.

“Quite frankly, at this point, our organization is just trying to sort out all the information,” said Beto Lopez, the president and chief operating officer of the Guadalupe Centers a non-profit serving the Kansas City’s Latino community. “We’re not prepared to address anything about the name at this point.”

The centers are located at 1015 Avenida Cesar E. Chavez, a major east-west thoroughfare that was formerly known as 23rd Street in Kansas City’s historically Latino West Side before it was renamed in honor of Chávez in 1994. A mural of Chávez, initially created in 1990 for free by a local artist, adorns the steps leading to Gage Park located directly north across the street. It was redone in 2024.

In its investigation published Wednesday, The New York Times, reveals accusations against Chávez by several women, two of whom claim to have been sexually abused for years by Chávez at a time when they were teens as young as 13 and when Chávez was in his 40s. Chávez died at age 66 in 1993. The two women are now both 66 years old.

The newspaper includes a claim of rape by Dolores Huerta, who is soon to turn 96, and who was known to be Chávez’s closest female ally in his workers’ rights movement. Huerta, who had never publicly revealed the sexual assault, said she was 36 at the time.

“Unfortunately,” Huerta told the Times, “he used some of his great leadership to abuse women and children — it’s really awful.”

Kansas Citians react to allegations

The Star reached out to numerous local political leaders.

Kansas City Mayor Quinton Lucas commended the survivors of sexual abuse for coming forward.

“We are deeply troubled by recent reports of sexual abuse of children and women by Cesar Chavez,” Lucas wrote in a statement. “We commend survivors for their bravery in coming forward. As with other public institutions around the country, we are currently processing the report and will ensure we engage our public and follow the ordinance process concerning any changes to the former 23rd Street through Kansas City’s West Side.”

Crispin Rea, the 4th District-at-Large Councilman, whose district includes the West Side, was more definitive, writing on social media that “I’ve been talking to Westside and community leaders about renaming Avenida Cesar Chavez.”

“What we learned about Cesar Chavez today is disgraceful and despicable,” Rea wrote. “I hope the victims find support and peace in their disclosures. Today Dolores Huerta and the other victims represented some of the most important values of the farmworkers and labor movement: courage, sacrifice, and advocacy.”

According to city ordinance, the street naming or renaming committee is composed of the Director of the City Planning and Development, the Director of Public Works, the Director of Parks and Recreation, the Chief of Police and the Chief of the Kansas City Fire Department.

While the Avenida Cesar E. Chavez is not one of the boulevards overseen by the Parks Department, the concrete steps containing the mural and leading to Gage Park are.

“As a leader in the community, and as someone who grew up on the West Side,” said Parks Commissioner Pat Contreras, “these reports are just — they’re serious. They deserve thoughtful consideration. I think, someone like me — who values that contributions of the Latino community, Latino leadership, and the really the broader farm workers movements — I think it’s important that we listen carefully to the community and approach this with respect for everyone involved.

“So really, as a board, my main focus is to listen to the community. As a board, we’re not making any decisions at this time. What we’re doing right now is we’ll just take time to engage with the community, understand the full picture and, obviously, coordinate with city council,” Contreras said.

‘Stand with survivors’

The issue has turned political.

Rebeca Amezcua-Hogan, candidate for Kansas City Council 4th District, called for the city to begin the process of removing Chavez’s name from the avenue.

“I hope that our City Council will follow the lead of the United Farm Workers in acting swift[ly] in the light of these allegations,” Amezcua-Hogan wrote in a statement. “Our community must be willing to confront difficult truths. Far too often has a culture of machismo and impunity for those in power paved the way for the abuse of Hispanic women and children.

“When credible allegations of sexually abusive and deeply troubling behavior emerge, we have a responsibility to stand with survivors.”

Amezcua-Hogan said it is her hope that if Avenida Cesar E. Chavez is renamed, it would be renamed in honor of the West Side’s Hispanic community or for the women of the National Farm Workers Association, which is now the UFW.

In 2014, President Barack Obama declared March 31 as Cesar Chavez Day to commemorate his legacy of work toward civil rights.

Following the newspaper’s report, The United Farm Workers organization, which was founded in collaboration with Chávez, said that the allegations go against everything that the organization stands for and it would not be celebrating the day.

“These disturbing allegations involve inappropriate behavior by Cesar Chavez with young women and minors, they are shocking, indefensible and something we are taking seriously,” the UFW wrote in a statement. “Recognizing how serious the allegations are, the UFW Foundation has cancelled all Cesar Chavez Day activities this month.”

In Texas, Republican Gov. Greg Abbott said that the state also would not be observing Cesar Chavez Day on March 31.

“I am directing all Texas state agency heads to comply. In the upcoming legislative session, I will work with Texas lawmakers to remove Cesar Chavez Day from state law altogether,” Abbott said in a prepared statement.

“Reports of the horrific and widely acknowledged sexual assault allegations against Cesar Chavez rightfully dismantle the myth of this progressive hero and undermine the narrative that elevated Chavez as a figure worthy of official state celebration.”

The United Farm Workers statement said the organization will continue to empower communities and center its work on protecting the most vulnerable.

The Cesar Chavez Foundation released a statement following the report calling the allegations shocking, disappointing and deeply painful.

“With the full support of the Chavez Family, we are actively engaging in a necessary conversation about our organization’s identity – one which we will approach with the seriousness, community input, and care it deserves,” the statement reads. “We invite our partners and community members to join us in this critical moment to uplift our core values.”

In Kansas City, longtime community advocate and former executive director of El Centro Irene Caudillo said that her first concern after hearing about the report was for the women involved.

“I’ve been deeply troubled by this because it is something that we’re hearing a lot about, right?” Caudillo said. “We’re hearing a lot about, former and past, but there’s no legacy that should excuse harmful behavior like this and against women. I’m thinking about (Dolores Huerta) today. I’m thinking about my girls today, holding them tight and making sure that they know that their voice will always matter.”

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