CADEN HAYNOR / NEWS EDITOR

On March 18, an investigation accused César Chávez of sexual abuse. The New York Times published the article accusing United Farm Workers co-founder Chávez as a sexual abuser. 

The San Diego Community College District is reviewing the possibility of renaming its César E. Chávez campus. Caden Haynor/The USD Vista

The New York Times investigation reported that Chávez sexually abused multiple women and girls in the 1960s and 70s, including United Farm Workers’ co-founder Dolores Huerta.

Chávez was a central labor leader  in  the  farmworkers  rights movement, organizing multiple strikes, boycotts and other nonviolent protests. His actions helped win union contracts, better wages and increased basic protections for farmworkers from the 1950s, peaking around the 1970s with union contracts covering tens of thousands of farmworkers.

Following this activism over multiple decades and his death in 1993, the investigation     tainted   the    world’s    image   of    Chávez,   alarming some USD faculty and students. Associate  University  Minister  Alec Hartman described his reaction to the investigation on Chávez relating to a Catholic worldview.

“The reports regarding César Chávez are deeply unsettling,” Hartman wrote. “As someone who admired his advocacy for labor  rights and  the  way  he  drew strength from his faith, this news feels like a profound betrayal. It shakes the very values that the intersection of faith and social  justice  (rooted  in Catholic Social  Teaching)   should  uphold:  dignity, integrity and the preferential option for the vulnerable.”

USD’s lower-division theology course Christian  Changemakers observes multiple Christian activists that have made a difference in the world. USD Senior  Teaching  Professor  in the Theology and Religious Studies department  Brian  Traska  teaches the class. Traska explained how the posthumous investigation on Chávez surprised him.

“I was shocked by the news,” Traska explained. “All  the activists  I  teach about in my  THRS  231  class  are   imperfect, but the severity of   these allegations  raises  the   question of whether I should continue highlighting   [Chávez]    as    a  model of Christian Changemaking. I’m still processing the story and collaborating with  my colleagues in  discerning   how  best  to  proceed.”

The  article   framed   Huerta’s  silence  as     the   result   of    multiple factors,  including    generational  norms  and Chávez’s position  as  a  central figure in the movement for  workers’ rights.

As a  Catholic activist, there was a time when Chávez was  informally  considered by some Catholic leaders and activists for canonization. This was not formally considered by the Vatican, but remained a topic of discussion at masses that mentioned   Chávez   and   his  work.

States    throughout    the U.S. are  changing  and   canceling  “César    Chávez     Day,”   traditionally     celebrated   on  March 31, following the investigation. In  California,  the   name change to “Farmworker’s Day” is  currently   being  considered.

Chávez often spoke to large crowds of people, pushing for farmworkers’ rights. Photo courtesy of @chavezfoundation/Instagram