March 19, 2026 • 14 mins
This week on Locatora Radio, Diosa and Mala respond to New York Times investigative reporting that reveals that Cesar Chavez, civil rights leader and co-founder of the National Farm Workers Association, groomed and sexually abused young girls. Dolores Huerta, feminist leader and co-founder of the National Farm Workers Association, shares her own story of sexual assault for the first time. In this episode, Mala reflects on the victim blaming that survivors deal with. Diosa discusses the culture of silence that enables the abuse of girls and women.
Source: Cesar Chavez, a Civil Rights Icon, Is Accused of Abusing Girls for Years. By: Manny Fernandez, Sarah Hurtes
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Episode Transcript
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Speaker 1 (00:00):
Okada Radio.
Speaker 2 (00:04):
Hey Loka Motes, I'm Diosa and you're listening to Loka
to Radio. Mala and I are not in the same
city this week, so we are not able to sit
down and record together, but we did want to put
an episode out because we know that the revelation of
Sessata Chavs's abuse over the decades is groundbreaking and is
(00:25):
causing a lot of conversation in our communities at the
local and national level. So in this episode you will
hear from Mala and I separately. We will produce a
full length episode at a later time. Here's Mala.
Speaker 1 (00:41):
Today, March eighteenth, the New York Times released an investigative
report which found that Caesar Chavez, civil rights leader and
co founder of the United farm Workers, groomed and sexually
abused girls. Co founder of the United farm Workers, the
Loris Fuerta, came forward to share her own story of
set abuse by Caesar Chavez. In this episode, we're discussing
(01:04):
the Times investigation, their findings, and how the Latino Latine
community is responding. Please press pause and take a break
if you need to. So this is how the investigation
was conducted. Manny Fernandez, the California editor at large for
The Times, and Sarah Urthis, an investigative reporter, worked on
(01:25):
this investigation for five years after they received a tip
about Caesar Chaves's past. The findings are based on interviews
with more than sixty people. These people include his top
aides at the time, his relatives, and former members of
the UfW, the United farm Workers, which he co founded
with Miss Wuerta and Gilbert Badia. The Times reviewed hundreds
(01:52):
of pages of union records, confidential emails, and photographs, as
well as hours of audio recordings from UfW boorn meetings.
Anna Morguya decided to come forward more than fifty years
later after she learned a street near her home in
Bakersfield was in the process of being renamed for Caesar Chavez.
(02:14):
Anna Morguya's father was a Union official and aide to
Caesar Chavez. Anna shares the details of her abuse with
The Times, when it started and how she struggled from
the trauma afterwards. She told The Times quote, girls were
abused by family members, by people close to the family,
and it was always kept quiet and if anyone found out,
(02:37):
she said, the question was never about the man. It
was always well, what did you do? See what you did?
This is something we've touched upon on LOCATORA Radio in
past episodes. This is called victim blaming, in which a
survivor of assault or abuse comes forward talks about what
(02:58):
happened to them. Instead of questioning the actions or motivations
of the alleged perpetrator, the people that the survivor disclosed
their trauma to immediately assumes that the survivor in question
did something wrong, did something to provoke, to encourage the attack.
(03:19):
It's a way of blaming people, especially women, especially children,
for the violence that is enacted upon them by people
in a position of power. In this case, it sounds
like young girls that were close to UfW leaders and
the Chavis family who were abused came forward for help
(03:39):
to disclose instances of abuse or grooming and were met
with victim blaming. It sounds like what Anna Muria is
describing is victim blaming from the Chavis family and leadership
at the UfW towards survivors of assault and abuse at
the time. Another survivor, Debra Rojas, who is also a
(04:03):
daughter of longtime organizers who marched beside Caesar Chavez says
she was abused from nineteen seventy two to nineteen seventy seven.
Abuse began when she was twelve years old. The nationwide
response as we approach March thirty first, which is Caesar
Chravis's birthday and a federally commemorated holiday, has been stark.
(04:28):
The nationwide response has been immediate, and marches to honor
mister Chavez were called off canceled in Austin, Texas, Tucson, Arizona,
and elsewhere. Officials in multiple states said they would consider
renaming the scores of streets and schools named in his honor.
Caesar Chavez is a recurring and enduring figure in mural art.
(04:50):
In Los Angeles. Many streets are named after Caesar Chavez,
including in Boyle Heights. There are parks named after Caesar
Chavez memorials throughout the state, a especially in agricultural towns
and centers. And I wonder if, with Dolores Wedtha's statement
about her own experiences of abuse and assault at the
(05:11):
hands of Caesar Chavez, I wonder if any streets, parks,
memorials named after Caesar Chavez might now be named for
the Lotus Wertha.
Speaker 2 (05:26):
In addition to The New York Times releasing their investigation
the Lotus, Werreda also wrote an open letter published by
The Times where she shares her story for the first time.
She shares that nearly sixty years ago, Sesada Chavez sexually
assaulted her. She writes, as a young mother in the
(05:46):
nineteen sixties, I experienced two separate sexual encounters with Sesad.
The first time, I was manipulated and pressured into having
sex with him, and I didn't feel like I could
say no because he was someone that I admired, my
boss and the leader of the movement. I had already
devoted years of my life to the second time, I
(06:08):
was forced against my will and in an environment where
I felt trapped. The statement is familiar to many of
us who have felt the pressure and manipulation by someone
close to us, someone who we trust, someone who we
may admire, and feel that we cannot say no. In
(06:29):
this letter, she also shares that she carried the secret
for a long time because she felt it would harm
the labor movement, that it would harm the movement which
was securing rights for farm workers. She also shares that
this farm worker movement has always been bigger and far
more important than any one individual. In this letter, she
(06:51):
also shares that she has kept this secret long enough
and her silence ends here. I want to acknowledge the
type of victim blaming that Mala referred to, but I
have also been seeing online and one that survivors always
expect to hear. Why did you wait so long? Why now?
Instead of questioning the society and culture that does not
(07:13):
allow survivors to speak up. Since this news broke, the
United farm Workers issued a statement saying that the organization
would not take part in any activity celebrating mister Travis's
birthday on March thirty first. They said that the troubling
allegations that were surfacing were incompatible with the organization's values
(07:35):
and that it did not have firsthand knowledge of any misconduct.
They also said that they quote need some time to
get this right, including to ensure robust, trauma informed services
are available to those who may need it end quote.
I have been seeing so many quick responses and questions
about changing the buildings, the street signs, the parks. The
(07:58):
bear says that chaves his name, and rightfully so. It
is a great question. Will these buildings be renamed and
what will they be renamed too. It is a good
opportunity to remember to center what the survivors want and
need to get community input. This should be survivor and
(08:19):
community driven. There are a lot of people who may
come forward, especially politicians, who will be supporting these types
of changes because they're politicians and it is good. But
it's a good thing for us to remember that community
and survivors need to be at the center of this
conversation and all of this needs to be trauma informed.
(08:42):
I also want to acknowledge that The Times reported on
a type of community knowledge knowing about Sessa of Travis's
actions and abuse. According to this report, internal emails dating
back over a decade show union members discussing Anna muria
As claims of abuse and the impact it had on
(09:02):
her life. According to The Times, one of Anna Murria's
relatives confronted mister Chaves while he was still alive in
the nineteen eighties. According to this relative, mister Chavez offered
no defense and responded only by clearing his throat. The
Times also reported that more than ten years ago, members
of a private Facebook group for long time Chavez organizers
(09:24):
and supporters were stunned to read a post by the
other survivor, Debora Rojas, who came forward in the New
York Times Peace. As the organizers prepared to celebrate the
holiday in his name, Deborah has posted quote, wake up people,
this man you march for every year molested me. End quote.
(09:46):
Deborah ro has deleted the message days after posting it,
and was accused by some who saw it or heard
about it of jeopardizing all that had been accomplished, not
only by mister Chavez, but her parents and those they
marched alongside. This is another example of how silence is encouraged.
This is what rape culture is. This is what it does.
(10:07):
This is the type of silence that permeates, especially in
our communities. This tradition of silence ends here. With the
survivors going on record over twenty four hours since the
New York Times investigation piece went live. I'm seeing, of course,
the chatter online. And while my digital circle is predominantly women,
(10:28):
queer folks who believe survivors, that is a type of
videos and content and posts that I've been seeing. However,
I know that other types of responses and content exist
that's full of victim blaming. That's questioning the validity of
this investigative piece. That's clear the people commenting have not
(10:50):
even read it, and I want to remind us to
actually read the investigation. The investigation was done by Manifit
and this and Sarah Urtas, and if you read the article,
they detail extensively how they did this research. They received
a tip in twenty twenty one, five years ago about
(11:11):
Cessata Chavis's abuse. They spent the last five years investigating.
They interviewed more than sixty people. They have fact checkers,
they have a legal team. This is a vetted story.
And while it definitely may hurt for some that this
canonized heroic figure is being exposed for who he really was,
(11:31):
keep in mind that it has been well documented that
Sesata Chavis was anti immigrant and anti undocumented labor. This
has been common knowledge for many of us for years,
which is why we have questioned his legacy and even
critiqued his heroic stature in our community. This may be
(11:53):
shocking for some, but it's also important to believe survivors,
to believe the women, men and young girls who come
forward the first time, and to not minimize their experiences,
to not question the validity of their stories to not
shame them. Girls and women should never be sacrificed for
(12:16):
the quote good of the community, for the good of
the movement. We know time and time again there are
clear examples just like this one that this continuously happens.
While this is not an extensive episode here and look
at Radio, we did want to put something on the
(12:36):
feed this week to connect with you, our listener, because
we know that this is important. Because we know that
this is a historical moment and many in our community
are unpacking it and feeling it and posting about it
in real time. It's a reminder that we still have
to challenge this culture that encourages silence from girls and
(12:58):
women when they're abused, victimize, harmed. Many of us can
even look to our own families. Many of us can
identify a predator, a perpetrator in our families that we're
still made to share space with, that we still maybe
even share a home with. This is not new to
(13:21):
our community. We know that this happens in our families,
in our neighborhood, in the community around us. I have
deep respect for Anna Murguilla, Dabrah Rojas and the Lotus
Wuerta for coming forward and sharing their story, releasing their
truth to the world. May it change all of us,
(13:45):
maybe question the culture, society, our own families that allow
for this type of abuse to continue. I hope that
they're surrounded by love, by protection, by people who care
about them. I hope they feel peace now that their
story is free, and that all of us collectively are
carrying some of it with us. We will produce a
(14:08):
full length episode at a later time, but for now,
I hope you're taking care. I hope you're getting offline,
and I hope that you have the support that you need.
If this breaking news has you were visiting past traumas
and experiences, you are not alone. Your story matters, and
we believe survivors here. This is another of Lot Radio.
(14:33):
Thank you for tuning in.
Okada Radio.
Speaker 2 (00:04):
Hey Loka Motes, I'm Diosa and you're listening to Loka
to Radio. Mala and I are not in the same
city this week, so we are not able to sit
down and record together, but we did want to put
an episode out because we know that the revelation of
Sessata Chavs's abuse over the decades is groundbreaking and is
(00:25):
causing a lot of conversation in our communities at the
local and national level. So in this episode you will
hear from Mala and I separately. We will produce a
full length episode at a later time. Here's Mala.
Speaker 1 (00:41):
Today, March eighteenth, the New York Times released an investigative
report which found that Caesar Chavez, civil rights leader and
co founder of the United farm Workers, groomed and sexually
abused girls. Co founder of the United farm Workers, the
Loris Fuerta, came forward to share her own story of
set abuse by Caesar Chavez. In this episode, we're discussing
(01:04):
the Times investigation, their findings, and how the Latino Latine
community is responding. Please press pause and take a break
if you need to. So this is how the investigation
was conducted. Manny Fernandez, the California editor at large for
The Times, and Sarah Urthis, an investigative reporter, worked on
(01:25):
this investigation for five years after they received a tip
about Caesar Chaves's past. The findings are based on interviews
with more than sixty people. These people include his top
aides at the time, his relatives, and former members of
the UfW, the United farm Workers, which he co founded
with Miss Wuerta and Gilbert Badia. The Times reviewed hundreds
(01:52):
of pages of union records, confidential emails, and photographs, as
well as hours of audio recordings from UfW boorn meetings.
Anna Morguya decided to come forward more than fifty years
later after she learned a street near her home in
Bakersfield was in the process of being renamed for Caesar Chavez.
(02:14):
Anna Morguya's father was a Union official and aide to
Caesar Chavez. Anna shares the details of her abuse with
The Times, when it started and how she struggled from
the trauma afterwards. She told The Times quote, girls were
abused by family members, by people close to the family,
and it was always kept quiet and if anyone found out,
(02:37):
she said, the question was never about the man. It
was always well, what did you do? See what you did?
This is something we've touched upon on LOCATORA Radio in
past episodes. This is called victim blaming, in which a
survivor of assault or abuse comes forward talks about what
(02:58):
happened to them. Instead of questioning the actions or motivations
of the alleged perpetrator, the people that the survivor disclosed
their trauma to immediately assumes that the survivor in question
did something wrong, did something to provoke, to encourage the attack.
(03:19):
It's a way of blaming people, especially women, especially children,
for the violence that is enacted upon them by people
in a position of power. In this case, it sounds
like young girls that were close to UfW leaders and
the Chavis family who were abused came forward for help
(03:39):
to disclose instances of abuse or grooming and were met
with victim blaming. It sounds like what Anna Muria is
describing is victim blaming from the Chavis family and leadership
at the UfW towards survivors of assault and abuse at
the time. Another survivor, Debra Rojas, who is also a
(04:03):
daughter of longtime organizers who marched beside Caesar Chavez says
she was abused from nineteen seventy two to nineteen seventy seven.
Abuse began when she was twelve years old. The nationwide
response as we approach March thirty first, which is Caesar
Chravis's birthday and a federally commemorated holiday, has been stark.
(04:28):
The nationwide response has been immediate, and marches to honor
mister Chavez were called off canceled in Austin, Texas, Tucson, Arizona,
and elsewhere. Officials in multiple states said they would consider
renaming the scores of streets and schools named in his honor.
Caesar Chavez is a recurring and enduring figure in mural art.
(04:50):
In Los Angeles. Many streets are named after Caesar Chavez,
including in Boyle Heights. There are parks named after Caesar
Chavez memorials throughout the state, a especially in agricultural towns
and centers. And I wonder if, with Dolores Wedtha's statement
about her own experiences of abuse and assault at the
(05:11):
hands of Caesar Chavez, I wonder if any streets, parks,
memorials named after Caesar Chavez might now be named for
the Lotus Wertha.
Speaker 2 (05:26):
In addition to The New York Times releasing their investigation
the Lotus, Werreda also wrote an open letter published by
The Times where she shares her story for the first time.
She shares that nearly sixty years ago, Sesada Chavez sexually
assaulted her. She writes, as a young mother in the
(05:46):
nineteen sixties, I experienced two separate sexual encounters with Sesad.
The first time, I was manipulated and pressured into having
sex with him, and I didn't feel like I could
say no because he was someone that I admired, my
boss and the leader of the movement. I had already
devoted years of my life to the second time, I
(06:08):
was forced against my will and in an environment where
I felt trapped. The statement is familiar to many of
us who have felt the pressure and manipulation by someone
close to us, someone who we trust, someone who we
may admire, and feel that we cannot say no. In
(06:29):
this letter, she also shares that she carried the secret
for a long time because she felt it would harm
the labor movement, that it would harm the movement which
was securing rights for farm workers. She also shares that
this farm worker movement has always been bigger and far
more important than any one individual. In this letter, she
(06:51):
also shares that she has kept this secret long enough
and her silence ends here. I want to acknowledge the
type of victim blaming that Mala referred to, but I
have also been seeing online and one that survivors always
expect to hear. Why did you wait so long? Why now?
Instead of questioning the society and culture that does not
(07:13):
allow survivors to speak up. Since this news broke, the
United farm Workers issued a statement saying that the organization
would not take part in any activity celebrating mister Travis's
birthday on March thirty first. They said that the troubling
allegations that were surfacing were incompatible with the organization's values
(07:35):
and that it did not have firsthand knowledge of any misconduct.
They also said that they quote need some time to
get this right, including to ensure robust, trauma informed services
are available to those who may need it end quote.
I have been seeing so many quick responses and questions
about changing the buildings, the street signs, the parks. The
(07:58):
bear says that chaves his name, and rightfully so. It
is a great question. Will these buildings be renamed and
what will they be renamed too. It is a good
opportunity to remember to center what the survivors want and
need to get community input. This should be survivor and
(08:19):
community driven. There are a lot of people who may
come forward, especially politicians, who will be supporting these types
of changes because they're politicians and it is good. But
it's a good thing for us to remember that community
and survivors need to be at the center of this
conversation and all of this needs to be trauma informed.
(08:42):
I also want to acknowledge that The Times reported on
a type of community knowledge knowing about Sessa of Travis's
actions and abuse. According to this report, internal emails dating
back over a decade show union members discussing Anna muria
As claims of abuse and the impact it had on
(09:02):
her life. According to The Times, one of Anna Murria's
relatives confronted mister Chaves while he was still alive in
the nineteen eighties. According to this relative, mister Chavez offered
no defense and responded only by clearing his throat. The
Times also reported that more than ten years ago, members
of a private Facebook group for long time Chavez organizers
(09:24):
and supporters were stunned to read a post by the
other survivor, Debora Rojas, who came forward in the New
York Times Peace. As the organizers prepared to celebrate the
holiday in his name, Deborah has posted quote, wake up people,
this man you march for every year molested me. End quote.
(09:46):
Deborah ro has deleted the message days after posting it,
and was accused by some who saw it or heard
about it of jeopardizing all that had been accomplished, not
only by mister Chavez, but her parents and those they
marched alongside. This is another example of how silence is encouraged.
This is what rape culture is. This is what it does.
(10:07):
This is the type of silence that permeates, especially in
our communities. This tradition of silence ends here. With the
survivors going on record over twenty four hours since the
New York Times investigation piece went live. I'm seeing, of course,
the chatter online. And while my digital circle is predominantly women,
(10:28):
queer folks who believe survivors, that is a type of
videos and content and posts that I've been seeing. However,
I know that other types of responses and content exist
that's full of victim blaming. That's questioning the validity of
this investigative piece. That's clear the people commenting have not
(10:50):
even read it, and I want to remind us to
actually read the investigation. The investigation was done by Manifit
and this and Sarah Urtas, and if you read the article,
they detail extensively how they did this research. They received
a tip in twenty twenty one, five years ago about
(11:11):
Cessata Chavis's abuse. They spent the last five years investigating.
They interviewed more than sixty people. They have fact checkers,
they have a legal team. This is a vetted story.
And while it definitely may hurt for some that this
canonized heroic figure is being exposed for who he really was,
(11:31):
keep in mind that it has been well documented that
Sesata Chavis was anti immigrant and anti undocumented labor. This
has been common knowledge for many of us for years,
which is why we have questioned his legacy and even
critiqued his heroic stature in our community. This may be
(11:53):
shocking for some, but it's also important to believe survivors,
to believe the women, men and young girls who come
forward the first time, and to not minimize their experiences,
to not question the validity of their stories to not
shame them. Girls and women should never be sacrificed for
(12:16):
the quote good of the community, for the good of
the movement. We know time and time again there are
clear examples just like this one that this continuously happens.
While this is not an extensive episode here and look
at Radio, we did want to put something on the
(12:36):
feed this week to connect with you, our listener, because
we know that this is important. Because we know that
this is a historical moment and many in our community
are unpacking it and feeling it and posting about it
in real time. It's a reminder that we still have
to challenge this culture that encourages silence from girls and
(12:58):
women when they're abused, victimize, harmed. Many of us can
even look to our own families. Many of us can
identify a predator, a perpetrator in our families that we're
still made to share space with, that we still maybe
even share a home with. This is not new to
(13:21):
our community. We know that this happens in our families,
in our neighborhood, in the community around us. I have
deep respect for Anna Murguilla, Dabrah Rojas and the Lotus
Wuerta for coming forward and sharing their story, releasing their
truth to the world. May it change all of us,
(13:45):
maybe question the culture, society, our own families that allow
for this type of abuse to continue. I hope that
they're surrounded by love, by protection, by people who care
about them. I hope they feel peace now that their
story is free, and that all of us collectively are
carrying some of it with us. We will produce a
(14:08):
full length episode at a later time, but for now,
I hope you're taking care. I hope you're getting offline,
and I hope that you have the support that you need.
If this breaking news has you were visiting past traumas
and experiences, you are not alone. Your story matters, and
we believe survivors here. This is another of Lot Radio.
(14:33):
Thank you for tuning in.
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