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The delay Cesar Chavezone of the countries most prominent civil rights leaderswas accused of sexually abusing girls and women.
Civil Rights Icon Dolores Huerta said in a statement that Chavez, her co-founder of what became the United Farm Workers union, manipulated and pressured her into having sex once and, in a second encounter, forced her “against my will” to have sex.
“The first time I was manipulated and pressured into having sex with him, and I didn’t think I could say no because he was someone I admired, my boss and the leader of the movement to which I had already devoted years of my life,” Huerta said in a statement posted online. “The second time, I was forced, against my will, and in an environment where I felt trapped. »
Huerta first revealed her sexual assault allegations to the New York Times, who published an investigation on Wednesday of allegations from her and two other women, who said they were 13 and 15 when Chavez first sexually assaulted them.
The newspaper said it relied on interviews with more than 60 people, including former top aides, relatives and former members of the United Farm Workers union. He also combed through union records, confidential emails, photographs and recordings of UFW board meetings.
Chavez, who was of Mexican descent, is one of the most famous and recognized Latinos in modern U.S. history and an inspiration to generations who credit his work with inspiring their own activism and causes. He died in 1993.
The news is expected to have profound repercussions in the Mexican-American and Latino communities, and in many considers Chávez a civil rights hero. He has been honored at the highest levels of government, many streets are named after him and he is a symbol of the long-standing fight for equality for Mexican Americans, the largest Latino group in the United States, as well as agricultural workers.
Civil rights marches took place regularly on March 31which President Barack Obama designated in 2014 as Cesar Chavez Day and which falls on Chavez’s birthday. In California, it is recognized as a public holiday.
Huerta said she was a young mother in the 1960s at the time of Chavez’s sexual assault.
Now 96, Huerta said in her statement that she kept it “secret” because “I believed that exposing the truth would harm the farmworker movement that I have spent my entire life fighting for.”
The Times reported that it could not corroborate Huerta’s allegations.
Huerta’s statement comes a day after several communities canceled César Chávez Day activities in anticipation of the allegations becoming widely public. The Cesar Chavez Foundation said in a statement Tuesday that it had become aware of “very disturbing allegations.” The UFW warned that “very young women or girls may have been victims.”
Huerta said both sexual encounters led to pregnancies, which she kept secret. Two children were born, and Huerta arranged for them to be raised by other families “who could give them a stable life,” she said.
“Knowing that he hurt young girls makes me sick. My heart aches for everyone who suffered alone and in silence for years,” Huerta said.
Huerta did not respond to NBC News’ requests for comment. His spokesperson provided the statement.