Oregon institutions reckon with removing Cesar Chavez’s name following sexual abuse report

Note: This story contains descriptions of sexual assault. If you or someone you know may be a victim of sexual assault, confidential support, information and advice are available at the National Sexual Assault Hotline by calling 800-656-4673. Text chat is also available online.

For decades, communities have celebrated Cesar Chavez, the civil rights leader who led the cause for better pay and treatment for farmworkers. His name adorns schools and streets across the country, including in Oregon.

Now, institutions across the state are mulling whether to remove his name following a news report that detailed extensive sexual abuse allegations against him.

“I’m just distraught with everything that’s been going on,” said state Rep. Ricki Ruiz, D-Gresham, who considered Chavez a personal inspiration in his political life. “But I truly do believe we cannot pick and choose where we stand with survivors.”

At least one Portland city councilor wants to change the name of César E. Chávez Boulevard after a five year-investigation by the New York Times revealed allegations that the farmworker union leader assaulted and raped women and children.

Candace Avalos, who represents East Portland, wrote on social media Wednesday that she would seek to rename the key eastside thoroughfare after Dolores Huerta, who told the New York Times that Chávez raped her decades ago.

“I have begun looking into the process and talking with community leaders about renaming Cesar Chavez blvd to Dolores Huerta blvd,” Avalos wrote on Bluesky. “Per city code, one of the first steps is a petition with 2500 signatures. Stay tuned for ways to be involved in this effort.”

Speaking with OPB Wednesday morning, Portland Mayor Keith Wilson said he wasn’t aware of the New York Times investigation.

“We haven’t had a chance to fully discuss it,” said Wilson’s Deputy Chief of Staff Taylor Zajonc. “But it’s a chance to have a community conversation.”

Portland City Council voted unanimously in 2009 to change 39th Avenue to César E. Chávez Boulevard. It’s not the only place in Oregon that bears his name.

There’s the K-8 César Chávez School in North Portland. There are elementary schools named after him in Eugene and in Salem. There’s also the Centro Cultural César Chávez at Oregon State University in Corvallis. Oregon and Washington celebrate César Chávez day on March 31, his birthday.

Reyna Lopez, the executive director of Pineros Y Campesinos Unidos del Noroeste, or PCUN, Oregon’s largest farmworker union, said in a statement the union will not be engaging in Cesar Chavez Day Celebrations, which usually fall on March 31, his birthday.

“No leader is above accountability,” Lopez said. “We stand with the survivors of Chavez’s harmful actions, and with those reckoning with the gravity of these confirmed allegations.”

Huerta’s allegations were not the only ones detailed in the story. The Times also interviewed women who said they were 13 and 15 when they said they were sexually abused by Chávez.

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

Huerta is also an iconic figure, having co-founded the United Farm Workers alongside Chavez. She went public after 60 years of silence. According to the Times, Huerta had two children as a result of two unwanted sexual encounters with Chávez, the latter of which she described as rape. She hid the pregnancies, and the children were raised by other families.

In a statement, SEIU 503, a public employees union that represents more than 70,000 Oregon workers, said the accomplishments from the national farmworkers union “were bigger than any one individual and cannot be diminished, even in the wake of today’s devastating investigative report.”

“However, we will no longer continue any recognition or praise of Chavez in our Oregon,” the statement continued. “We plan to remove any celebrations in Chavez’s name and seek to recognize other labor leaders who lift up marginalized workers in those spaces.”

A history in Oregon

Chavez, who died in 1993, has been a larger-than-life character in the formation of the farmworker movement across the country.

In 1973, activists and educators established the nation’s first four-year independent Chicano university in Mt. Angel. They called it Colegio César Chávez. That institution closed its doors just 10 years after it opened, although its legacy continues to this day.

Chavez’s presence and his work with the California-based United Farm Workers union is interwoven with and has inspired Oregon’s own farmworker movement, which included the United Farm Workers of Oregon in 1968 and the Chicano United Farm Workers of Oregon in 1970, both emerging in the struggle for farmworker rights.

In 1971, Chavez, along with his brother, Richard and Huerta rallied in Salem against a collective bargaining rights bill that would’ve limited farmworker union strikes and boycotts. Then-Gov. Tom McCall vetoed that bill.

In 1985, Chávez visited Woodburn at the invitation of PCUN when it was founded.

Lopez, with PCUN, said the allegations are profoundly shocking, though the union will continue its efforts to stand in solidarity for farmworkers.

“Our labor union was founded to end the exploitation of farm workers, immigrants and Latinx community members. Chavez’s actions are against everything we stand for,” Lopez said.

Institutions mull name change

Scattered across the country, streets, schools, parks and other landmarks bear Chávez’s name. Local officials nationwide are now deciding whether to remove it.

“The university is aware of the reported abuse allegations and is in the process of gathering information and perspectives,” said Rob Odom, a spokesperson for Oregon State University. “No other comment at this time.”

Both Portland and Eugene have policies for renaming a school building, and any changes must be approved by the district’s school board.

“District leadership, including school board members, will carefully consider this new information and appropriate next steps,” Kelly McIver, a spokesperson for the Eugene School District 4J, said in a statement.

Aaron Harada, a spokesperson for Salem-Keizer Public Schools, called the news “shocking and concerning.” However, he added, “It is too early to say about possibly renaming our school. Typically, naming a school involves community engagement and board action.”

Michelle DePass, the vice chair of the Portland Public Schools Board, said: “I don’t plan to call for a renaming — that feels reactionary — I think that’s a conversation we should have as a school community.”

Ruiz, the Gresham state lawmaker, was raised by farmworkers and grew up admiring Chavez, who influenced his political work. Now, he said institutions should begin holding discussions around whether to remove Chavez’s name.

“It’s just heartbreaking,” Ruiz said. “But you have to also understand that the work that Cesar Chavez did in conjunction with other folks was powerful, too.”

Ruiz said he keeps a painting of Huerta in his office at the state Capitol in Salem. On Wednesday, he joined Avalos’ call to change the name of the Portland boulevard, adding: “Knowing all this information, I’m in a space in which I would feel comfortable renaming streets and schools.”

“Accountability should never depend on the power of someone or the status of someone or the politics,” he said.

Reporters Alex Zielinski and Elizabeth Miller contributed to this story.