Repeal Follows Investigation of Chavez’s Sexual Abuse of Adults and Minors
ST. PAUL, Minn. — On Thursday, March 26, Senator Sandy Pappas (DFL-St. Paul) led the Senate in a unanimous vote, (67-0), to pass a bill that repeals Minnesota’s Cesar Chavez Day on March 31. The legislation to end the holiday comes after a New York Times investigation that revealed Chavez had sexually assaulted and abused multiple children as well as his colleague in the United Farmworkers Union, Dolores Huerta.
Senator Pappas, who was an author of the bill that first created the holiday, releases the following statement:
“The Legislature created the Cesar Chavez holiday to celebrate Minnesota’s Latino and Latina communities. With the knowledge we now have, thanks to the New York Times’ investigation, it is no longer right to uplift this individual as we celebrate our Latino/a neighbors and the workers who fought for their rights during the Farmworkers’ Movement. I am glad to see the unanimous agreement in the Senate on this issue. I have endless respect and admiration for the survivors who came forward; and for every activist who has felt pressure to keep their abuse a secret for the sake of their movement. I look forward to finding different ways to honor Minnesota’s wonderful Latino/a communities and the farmworkers movement in the days and years to come. Minnesotans deserve to celebrate themselves and their neighbors without reservation.”
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