Senator Sasha Renée Pérez honors the strength and bravery of sexual assault survivors following devastating abuse revelations

SACRAMENTO – Senator Sasha Renée Pérez (D-Pasadena) has issued the following statement on the multiple sexual assault allegations against labor leader Cesar Chavez:

“I’m shocked and disgusted to read investigative reports revealing that United Farm Workers co-founder Cesar Chavez was a pedophile and a rapist, who used his position as a labor leader to take advantage of women and girls. This revelation is devastating for Latino organizers across the country who have admired Chavez and his work to protect farmworkers. 

“But we must not lose sight of what is most critical in today’s story: the strength, bravery and resiliency of the survivors who have come forward to share their stories, particularly Dolores Huerta, Ana Murguia and Debra Rojas. These women have remained silent for decades out of shame and fear of tarnishing Chavez’s image after he had become the face of the Latino civil rights movement. They have carried the painful weight of the truth in private to protect working-class Latino community’s from further racist attacks. 

“As a survivor, I’m tremendously grateful to Huerta, Murguia, Rojas and other survivors who have come forward to share their truth, despite requests from naysayers to remain silent. It is time for a reckoning within our movement. 

“Chavez may be dead, but the time for accountability has not ended. We must not perpetuate the myth that Chavez was a civil rights icon any longer. Leaders at all levels of government must take action to remove his name from countless streets, schools, and end the state holiday bearing his name. You cannot be a civil rights leader while abusing women and girls. 

“We know that the movement for Latino civil rights was never about one single man – it was about all the women and men who worked in the fields, who organized and who marched. Our movement must continue today, with an unapologetic commitment to protecting Latina women.”

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If you or someone you know needs support, below please find resources and services that are available to help at https://latinocaucus.legislature.ca.gov/resources-survivors-sexual-assault and https://doloreshuerta.org/sexual_assault_resources

Senator Sasha Renée Pérez is Chair of the Senate Education Committee and represents the 25th Senate District that includes the communities of Glendale, Pasadena, Alhambra, Altadena, Arcadia, Claremont, Glendora, La Cañada Flintridge, La Crescenta-Montrose, Monrovia, Monterey Park, Rosemead, San Gabriel, San Marino, Sierra Madre, South Pasadena, Temple City, Fontana, Rancho Cucamonga, Upland, and San Antonio Heights.