DELANO, Calif. — A few hours north of Los Angeles, Delano sits amid vineyards, orange groves and almond orchards. Many residents either work in those fields or have family who do. The city’s public art and landmarks celebrate the farm labor movement, including a prominent mural showing Cesar Chavez among local leaders. Chavez lived in Delano and cofounded the United Farm Workers (UFW) there in the 1960s; he has long been viewed as a local hero.
That status was shaken after a New York Times investigation published allegations that Chavez sexually abused young girls in the 1970s and raped longtime ally and co-leader Dolores Huerta in the 1960s. The report, published just before Chavez’s March 31 birthday — a day observed as a holiday in many places — prompted swift reactions across California: statues have been removed, public spaces renamed, and officials rethinking tributes.
In Delano, responses are mixed. Some leaders and residents are calling for changes: the Delano Joint Union High School District voted to rename Cesar E. Chavez High School, and the city council is expected to consider renaming Cesar E. Chavez Park. “Everything that we want to take into account, for how does accountability look like at the Delano level, will be on the table,” said city councilmember Bryan Osorio, while noting significant local resistance.
Monike Reynozo, director of programs at youth advocacy group Loud For Tomorrow and the descendant of farmworkers, said the allegations are heartbreaking because Chavez was a role model. Still, she believes the movement does not need to center him. “He’s just one individual amongst, you know, thousands of people who have been fighting for this and continue to fight for it,” she said while standing before a mural of farm labor leaders.
Others in Delano question the timing and veracity of the accusations. Armando Pulido, who picks grapes in nearby Earlimart, said he doesn’t believe the reports: “I think everything is a lie… Why didn’t they bring it up while he was alive?” Dolores Huerta, in an interview with Latino USA, explained why she waited to speak publicly: she feared that revealing what happened would have hurt the movement.
The New York Times also reported that others had raised concerns earlier, citing internal union emails about claims by Ana Murgia and a decade-old social media post from Debra Rojas in a private Facebook group. The Times said some union members accused those who spoke out of jeopardizing the movement’s work. NPR has not independently confirmed all those details.
For many, the allegations complicate how to remember the tangible gains the UFW secured: higher pay, mandated breaks and access to bathrooms in the fields — changes that transformed lives. That history makes erasing Chavez from public life difficult for some residents who view him as integral to Delano’s identity.
The controversy has also sparked discussion about whose stories are highlighted in farmworker history. Some see an opening to elevate other leaders, particularly Filipino organizers who played a central role in early labor actions. Larry Itliong organized Filipino farmworkers for decades and helped launch the 1965 Delano Grape Strike that later led to the UFW’s founding. “A lot of Filipinos, to this day, we always say: without Larry Itliong, there’d be no Cesar Chavez,” said Rogelio Gadiano, who grew up in Delano and leads tours of local historical sites, including The Forty Acres, the UFW’s first headquarters.
Gadiano, who worked in the fields off and on from childhood, hopes the moment will produce more informed conversations about the full history of farm labor organizing and the many people who contributed. “We got buried in history,” he said. “We were the spark, the ultimate spark.”
As Delano and other communities weigh renaming parks, schools and streets or taking down monuments, local leaders say decisions will have to balance honoring movement achievements, acknowledging victims, and reflecting the community’s views. Whatever steps are taken, residents and activists in Central California — the cradle of the farm labor movement — are grappling with how to reconcile pride in collective accomplishments with painful allegations about a once-celebrated leader.