A detailed mural captures the complexity of the farmworker movement. There was a blending of faith, protest and labor including Cesar Chavez. It also illustrates the tensions between workers and authority.
Library of Congress photo
By Jolie Tizoc
With any tragic circumstance, there is a time to mourn and a grieving process to go through. When tragedy has multiple facets or threads, the amount of time to grieve can be harder and take much longer.
A particular disclosure of the distressing actions made by one human, Cesar Chavez has caused a rift in the community and in the hearts of many.
To put into perspective the deep pain, shock, anger, and terrible loss from the news about Cesar Chavez and Dolores Huerta the following scenario could help explain the excruciating heartache that I feel (as I imagine others in the community also feel).
First, in this scenario try to imagine a little girl who absolutely loves and adores her father. She is daddy’s little girl with an unbreakable bond with her father. Imagine she believes her father is her protector and wrestler for justice. Then, visualize this little girl has an older sister who is her rock, her role model, and a gentle but strong caregiver. Now imagine the scenario 60 years later, when the little girl and the older sister are in the twilight of their lives and after the father has been dead for over 20 years. The older sister fearfully discloses that this so-called loving father sexually molested and assaulted her as an adolescent. For me, the father represents Cesar Chavez and the older sister, Dolores Huerta. As the little girl portrayed in the scenario, my world crumbled when I heard the tragic news involving them both!
If you had a hateful relationship with your father, you may find the scenario difficult to relate to but give it your best shot.
How do you react to the news about your father and sister? Are you in shock? Speechless? Are you filled with anger, hate, disbelief, and confusion? Perhaps all of the above and more!
Relating to the father/older sister scenario and in my speaking with friends, we discussed that there seem to be three significant threads to the Cesar Chavez travesty:
One: The suffering and abuse of the older sister, young girls, and women regardless of the perpetrator.
Two: The heartbreak, disillusionment, sense of betrayal of an admired person & highly regarded individual (in this case, Cesar Chavez but you can insert the names of many other fallen heroes and heroines).
Three: The defaming or potential dismantling of a legacy, a movement fraught with overwhelming struggles, hardships, & roadblocks yet also filled with milestones that one person may have been at the forefront but thousands albeit millions fought in. It is a movement of farmworkers, not just one individual.
The threads are separate yet bound and weaved together. Our first responses, the pain, the twisted thoughts, and the outrage are real and confusing. Thus, let us consider that the responses also need to be processed, contemplated carefully, mourned, and considered in a way that is supportive of the healing and recovery within all three threads.
Let us support the survivors, feel the crying rage and sense of betrayal towards the perpetrator, and reclaim/rebuild the legacy of the farmworker movement.
In addition, there are some comments and questions with disbelief and assumptions by various people. The following are my personal responses to some of those questions and comments but do not necessarily express what another person is feeling or thinking:
- How can a person wait so many years and not say anything to report an abuse?
As a survivor of multiple sexual molestations as a child, I have been quiet for almost 60 years. Only a handful of people know, and I will most likely take the full details of the incidents to my grave. Then again, maybe if I make it to 90 years old, I will finally feel comfortable to make a full disclosure. So, yes, a person can keep quiet about a sexual abuse for years and even decades.
- Why didn’t the women especially Dolores Huerta speak up sooner?
As a child, I did not speak up about the sexual abuse I experienced because as a young child, I did not really have the concept of what was happening. Although I was sent to help this person, something felt wrong. I did not know what to say or who to tell. As I got a little older, I tried to stay away as much as possible although events did not allow for complete exclusion from the person. Still silent, I became angry, filled with self-hate and self-destruction. As a young adult, I remained quiet because I did not want to disrupt the family/friend dynamics and wondered if I would anyone would believe me. I thought better to get over it and why did it matter? It was probably my fault anyway. As a grown woman, I do not want to hurt the people who care for or love these perverted individuals. Now, I am too old, many years have gone by, and I should let it go and move on. Yes, I have kept quiet for so many reasons and none of them help to alleviate the trauma, extreme anger, and shame that I feel on a regular basis.
- Shouldn’t the name of Cesar Chavez be stricken from history including removal of his name from streets or buildings and cancellation of events?
Within any movement, I am not a fan of only promoting any one individual because a movement must continue to be successful despite the failure and flaws of any individual. Companies although named after the founders such as Kellogg and Ford, focus their marketing strategies on their products, merchandise, and services not on the achievements of the CEO. If someone from the city council is involved in some illicit behavior, the council continues and is not dismantled. So, yes, remove the Chavez name (even if he has been deceased for years and unable to defend himself) and then, let us also seriously look at the precedence for the removal of other individual’s names on other buildings, streets, and parks of past rapists, slave owners, pedophiles, embezzlers, and murderers. I much prefer names with reference to nature like Maple, Walnut, or Pine. Nonetheless, it is imperative to strongly support the farmworker movement and the Latino community with a new name reflecting the movement such as “Sí Se Puede Avenue”, “La Causa Avenue”, or “Farm Labor Movement Avenue.”We must not cancel but must continue to recognize the past efforts made to secure the spaces with events and celebrations that highlight the accomplishments of the farmworker movement.
- Why were streets’ names changed, or events planned to celebrate someone like Cesar Chavez in the first place?
The United Farm Worker (UFW) movement was a struggle of love for the workers, families, and children. I am the daughter of migrant farmworkers and a seasonal farmworker since I was 11 years old for approximately ten years. My dad was involved in the union until the day he died and a staunch supporter of the UFW movement. I took part in my first farmworker event when I was about 6 or 7 years old and was fortunate to see and to feel the power of Chavez and the movement. I had to stand on a chair to watch Cesar Chavez walking into the building to the sounds of the famous “migrant union clap” and the roar of the crowd. Even at that early age, having already experienced discrimination, I felt a sense of belonging as a Mexican American and I was mesmerized.
My parents especially my mom shared stories of the harshness of working in the fields, moving from place to place following the harvest. Working conditions were unsafe to the point of being lethal and living conditions were deadly unsanitary. I lived in the migrant camps experiencing some of the hardships faced by farmworkers. There were harmful pesticides sprayed in the fields while people were working causing birth defects, deformities, still births, cancer, and a number of other health issues.
My mom recalls sleeping in a chicken coop. I remember picking cherries covered with the white poison. There was a lack of toilet facilities near the fields so there was squatting behind bushes or trees and no place to wash hands nor any fresh drinking water. Overgrown weeds and trash piled up in the migrant camps because there was no garbage pickup or lawn care available. Families tried to take as much trash as possible to downtown trash bins but there were consequences and complaints. No amount of DEET could keep mosquitoes from biting at night because there were no screens or windows. Cold showers were the norm because there was no running hot water. Work hours were long and grueling with limited or no breaks and extremely low wages. Some of the conditions improved prior to my time and during my time due to the efforts of the UFW.
People were beaten and died for the cause, La Causa! People fought to expose the cancerous effects of chemicals, pregnancies with birth defects, a dysfunctional educational system for migrant children, and the cruel and unjust working conditions. The Movement fought to improve the health, living, educational and working conditions of my family, myself, and thousands of other farmworking families. The Movement even fought for farmers, the surrounding communities exposed to the same toxic chemicals and for the consumers of the harvested products.
The history of the United Farm Worker movement needs to be learned, acknowledged, and appreciated. A leader in the Movement has fallen but the legacy of the movement should not be forgotten, minimized, stomped on, or detested. The movement’s efforts and achievements must continue to be at the forefront. The space named for Cesar Chavez still belongs to the Latino community and all the farmworkers. The space must continue to honor the legacy of the farmworker movement despite the removal of one person’s name.
As a survivor, as a Latina, the daughter of migrant farmworkers and a seasonal farmworker, I have deep roots, invested, a strong voice in any decisions made pertaining to Cesar Chavez.
We are resilient. We are strong. We must continue to be united. We need time to mourn, heal, and rebuild! Sí se puede!
In recognition of the psychological impact and potential retraumatization associated with public disclosure, the author’s name has been changed. Their identity has been confirmed by The New Citizens Press. The views expressed in this opinion piece do not necessarily reflect those of this publication.
If you know someone you know has experienced sexual assault, confidential support is available through the RAINN National Sexual Assault Hotline at (800) 656-HOPE (4673) or via online chat at rainn.org.
