MVP has issued the following statement on the horrifying revelations of movement leader, César Chávez:
Movement Voter Project is deeply alarmed and saddened by the news about César Chávez and the abuses he perpetrated against women and girls. There is absolutely no place for this kind of behavior in our movements.
We must all commit to fundamentally changing patterns of abuse within our movements and our society, especially those committed by men with greater systemic power than others.
This is a devastating reminder that even in our movements for progress, people still act immorally. César Chávez was a leader admired by many. Yet, he committed the most despicable crimes against women and girls he was close to — many of them organizers working alongside him, including United Farm Workers Co-Founder, Dolores Huerta.
We applaud Huerta and other survivors for their incredible courage in coming forward. We understand why speaking publicly about this sooner seemed impossible: Because women and girls are rarely encouraged to speak out. Because, more often than not, people don’t believe them. And because, at the time, they were seeking to act in the best interest of their fragile movement for farmworkers’ rights; knew they coming forward risked shattering everything Huerta, Chávez, and others had built.
This is a somber reminder that we will not bring about the world we want to see through electoral politics and policy change alone. We must also work to create deep and lasting cultural transformation in our movement and society.
MVP stands in solidarity with farmworkers, past and present, who put their bodies on the line so we can have food on our tables. This year, in MVP’s team calendar, we have changed March 31 to Farmworker Solidarity Day, in honor of Dolores Huerta and the thousands of farmworkers who sacrificed so much to fight for dignity and justice.
We are following the lead of our California and Latine partners and allies for how we move forward. Read some of what they have to say:
