Chavez name, once an honor, now carries a stain that officials want to scrub

Chavez name, once an honor, now carries a stain that officials want to scrub 1 of 6 | Labor rights activist Dolores Huerta revealed she was among women and girls who say they were sexually abused by César Chavez, the long-admired Latino icon, while he led the United Farm Workers union. 2 of 6 | A student looks toward a plywood box covering a statue of César Chavez at California-state-university-Fresno" class="entity-link entity-organization" data-entity-id="46732" data-entity-type="organization">California State University, Fresno in Fresno, Calif., Wednesday, March 18, 2026. (AP Photo/Godofredo A. Vásquez) 3 of 6 | A sanitation worker picks up trash next to a mural of César Chavez in Bakersfield, Calif., Thursday, March 19, 2026. (AP Photo/Godofredo A. Vásquez) 4 of 6 | A marker in honor of César Chavez along the Points of Light: Volunteer Pathway on Thursday, March 19, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo/Allison Robbert) 5 of 6 | Vehicles cross Southeast César E Chávez Boulevard on Wednesday, March 18, 2026, in Portland, Ore. (AP Photo/Jenny Kane) 6 of 6 | A statute of César Chavez stands in the middle of a plaza at Cesar Chavez Park, honoring the United Farm Workers union founder, Wednesday, March 18, 2026, in Laveen, Ariz. (AP Photo/Ross D. Franklin) 1 of 6 Labor rights activist Dolores Huerta revealed she was among women and girls who say they were sexually abused by César Chavez, the long-admired Latino icon, while he led the United Farm Workers union. Add AP News on Google Add AP News as your preferred source to see more of our stories on Google. 2 of 6 A student looks toward a plywood box covering a statue of César Chavez at California-state-university-Fresno" class="entity-link entity-organization" data-entity-id="46732" data-entity-type="organization">California State University, Fresno in Fresno, Calif., Wednesday, March 18, 2026. (AP Photo/Godofredo A. Vásquez) Add AP News on Google Add AP News as your preferred source to see more of our stories on Google. 3 of 6 A sanitation worker picks up trash next to a mural of César Chavez in Bakersfield, Calif., Thursday, March 19, 2026. (AP Photo/Godofredo A. Vásquez) Add AP News on Google Add AP News as your preferred source to see more of our stories on Google. 4 of 6 A marker in honor of César Chavez along the Points of Light: Volunteer Pathway on Thursday, March 19, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo/Allison Robbert) Add AP News on Google Add AP News as your preferred source to see more of our stories on Google. 5 of 6 Vehicles cross Southeast César E Chávez Boulevard on Wednesday, March 18, 2026, in Portland, Ore. (AP Photo/Jenny Kane) Add AP News on Google Add AP News as your preferred source to see more of our stories on Google. 6 of 6 A statute of César Chavez stands in the middle of a plaza at Cesar Chavez Park, honoring the United Farm Workers union founder, Wednesday, March 18, 2026, in Laveen, Ariz. (AP Photo/Ross D. Franklin) Add AP News on Google Add AP News as your preferred source to see more of our stories on Google. Updated [hour]:[minute] [AMPM] [timezone], [monthFull] [day], [year] Within hours of explosive sexual abuse allegations against the revered labor leader César Chavez, officials at a California university took swift action: First, a black cloth over a campus statue of Chavez, later followed by a plywood box hiding it from public view. Soon, officials said, it will be taken down.The statue at California-state-university-Fresno" class="entity-link entity-organization" data-entity-id="46732" data-entity-type="organization">California State University, Fresno, is just one of scores of monuments, city streets and elementary schools that honor Chavez ‘s name and his labor movement legacy across the nation. The Associated Press identified more than 130 locations or objects in at least 19 states named after Chavez, including libraries, streets, community centers and public parks.Suddenly the name has become more of a stain. Some of the institutions and local governments overseeing sites across the country bearing the Chavez name have already started the process of erasing it. Besides buildings and street signs, they also want to take steps to rename César Chavez Day, a federally proclaimed holiday that falls on his March 31 birthday. The allegations that Chavez sexually abused girls and women, including fellow movement leader Dolores Huerta, “call for our full attention and moral reckoning by removing his statute from our campus,” said Saúl Jiménez-Sandoval, president of the California-state-university-Fresno" class="entity-link entity-organization" data-entity-id="46732" data-entity-type="organization">California State University, Fresno. It’s not clear how long that will take. It’s also not clear what will happen to the César E. Chavez National Monument in Keene, California, which includes the office where some of the reported abuse took place. In Phoenix, city council members said they will meet next week to vote on whether to rename the holiday as well as any buildings and streets that bear Chavez’s name. The New York Times first reported Wednesday that it found credible evidence that Chavez groomed and sexually abused young girls who worked in the movement. One of his victims, in fact, partly felt compelled to come forward after a proposal to name a street near her home after Chavez. Huerta, who was a labor legend in her own right and co-founded in 1962 with Chavez the National Farm Workers Association — which became the United Farm Workers of America — revealed to the newspaper that she was a victim of abuse by him in her 30s.Some are calling for Chavez’s namesake places to be renamed for Huerta instead. Among the locations and objects bearing his name is a U.S. Navy cargo ship commemorating Chavez’s service during World War II and a national monument established in 2012 by then-President Barack Obama on a 187-acre site where Chavez once lived and worked.Most of the locations are in California but they includes sites in at least 19 states, from New York and Maryland to Oklahoma, the Great Lakes Region and Washington state.More than half are schools with most of them located in California. In Pueblo, Colorado, Chavez shares the name of a school with Huerta.Altering a national monument, such as changing a name, needs an act of Congress or action by the president. Brown is based in Billings, Montana. He covers breaking news, the environment, politics, energy, crime and more. Tang reports on race and ethnicity issues, including Asian American and Pacific Islander communities, for The Associated Press. She is based in Phoenix and previously covered breaking news in the Southwest.