US civil rights leader Dolores Huerta accuses Cesar Chavez of sexual assault - Reuters

Reuters
March 18, 2026
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Labor rights leader Dolores Huerta has accused Cesar Chavez of sexual assault.

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Dolores Huerta, a prominent US civil rights leader, has accused Cesar Chavez of sexual assault, according to Reuters reporting. Chavez, a legendary farmworkers' rights organizer who died in 1993, co-founded the United Farm Workers union with Huerta and became an iconic figure in the Latino civil rights movement. The allegation emerged decades after Chavez's death and raises questions about his historical legacy and the treatment of women within the farmworkers' movement he helped lead. Huerta was a central figure alongside Chavez in organizing migrant farm laborers and advocating for their labor rights throughout the 1960s and beyond. The accusation adds to a broader reckoning in the labor and civil rights communities about misconduct by historical figures.

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