Following recent allegations of sexual abuse against labor leader Cesar Chávez, Latine artists and cultural institutions, especially in California where he lived and worked, are confronting a period of reflection and reevaluation.
Across the state, many murals featuring Chávez’s image are being removed, and public sculptures that honor his legacy in schools and civic institutions are being dismantled. In Watts, an artist is replacing a Chávez mural with a portrait of Dolores Huerta, co-founder of the United Farm Workers (UFW) and one of the women accusing Chávez of abuse.
For many artists, the response to these revelations requires more than just altering public art; it demands a deep personal reflection.
“I am still very much devastated and processing everything,” local photographer Christina Fernandez expressed to Hyperallergic. “My parents were activists and worked with the UFW for at least a decade. So much of my childhood is wrapped up in boycotts, picket lines, and marches, even as a young child. We are all experiencing a collective trauma.”
In an Instagram post, Fernandez announced her decision to remove a piece from her series View From Here, which involved photographing landscapes from the offices or homes of historical figures. The specific photo, “Cesar I, II, III (Office View, Keene, CA)” (2025), was taken at the UFW headquarters in Keene, California, founded by Chávez and Huerta.
The impact of these revelations is profound among Latine/Latinx artists due to the UFW’s significant role in the Chicano Art Movement of the 1960s and ’70s.
“Art has always been central to the UFW in the way they’ve communicated their message,” said independent curator Pilar Tompkins Rivas to Hyperallergic. Artists within the union crafted banners and photographers captured iconic images, blending political advocacy with art. “There was a co-mingling of political advocacy and art-making,” Tompkins Rivas added.
Printmaking played a critical role in the Chicano Art Movement, allowing for widespread, cost-effective distribution of impactful messages. The East LA community arts center Self-Help Graphics & Art, a key institution since the 1970s, issued a statement after the allegations were reported in a New York Times investigation.
“WE BELIEVE DOLORES. WE BELIEVE ANA MURGUIA. WE BELIEVE DEBRA ROJAS,” said Self-Help Graphics & Art, acknowledging the survivors of the alleged abuse, including two minors.
The organization emphasized its duty to support victims and highlight their voices, confronting harm that has been downplayed to protect legacies—a minimization they call an act of oppression.
LA Plaza de Cultura y Artes, a museum dedicated to Mexican-American and Latine culture, has canceled a César Chávez Family Day event, acknowledging the unsettling nature of the allegations and highlighting the contributions of Dolores Huerta.
Some artists are responding to the news by creating new works that redefine the legacy of the farm workers’ rights movement.
A cartoon by artist Lalo Alcaraz released on Thursday shows a girl painting over Chávez’s image on a mural that also features Huerta and the UFW Aztec eagle. Chávez’s faded image symbolizes the ongoing challenge of addressing his actions.
“You can still see his face, he’s still going to be there,” Alcaraz explained to Hyperallergic, “but the UFW will go on.”
On Wednesday, artist Johanna Toruño shared a photo on Instagram of a defiant gesture toward a Cesar Chávez Ave. sign, captioning it with a call to rename streets and replace murals dedicated to a man known for his harsh stance on undocumented workers.
Toruño explained to Hyperallergic that she has never included Chávez’s image in her public art due to his attitudes toward undocumented workers.
“He’s never been an icon of mine,” she remarked. “No one person should become the face of any one movement. It’s about focusing on the community itself.”
Even before these recent revelations, there was growing recognition of Huerta’s contributions as a civil rights leader.
Last summer, artists and curators Harley Cortez and Glenna Avila began organizing an exhibition to celebrate Huerta’s 95-year legacy. The exhibition, titled Dolores, opens at the Plaza de la Raza Boathouse Gallery on March 21 and features works from various artists that honor the feminist and human rights leader.
Key archival pieces, such as original mural drawings by Yreina Cervantez and Carlos Almaraz, along with Barbara Carrasco’s 1999 screenprint of Huerta, are displayed alongside contemporary creations by artists like Maria Maea, Ozzie Juarez, and Karla Diaz.
“We didn’t want this to be a moment where a man’s actions overshadow a woman’s hard work,” Cortez told Hyperallergic. “She created [the slogan] ‘Si Se Puede.’ She has shown up. As dark as a lot of this can be, she really is an incredible inspiration. I don’t want to lose focus on that.”
This difficult period is part of a broader examination of who we celebrate and why.
“Think of it in the long lineage of people who have been reconsidered in the public realm,” Tompkins Rivas said. “We have to consider why we elevate certain figures. We should have the ability to be critical of that. This is a reckoning that absolutely must happen — there’s no second-guessing.”
