Public References to Cesar Chavez Are Being Removed Across the U.S.

The removals followed a New York Times investigation that revealed Chavez sexually abused women and girls.

He was a champion of the civil rights movement and a hero to many Latinos. On memorials across the United States, his name was chiseled in stone, and his likeness cast in bronze.

Today, he is a pariah.

On Wednesday, a New York Times investigation revealed that Cesar Chavez, who co-founded the United Farm Workers union, sexually abused women and girls, including the union’s co-founder, Dolores Huerta. In the days since, cities, states and schools have sought to erase their associations with him.

Statues have been covered, and festivals canceled. But that is only the beginning, as Chavez’s name is connected with countless buildings, parks and schools. Here are images of the initial steps to tear down memorials to the man, who died in 1993, and instead highlight the movement that he started and that others now carry on.

In San Fernando, the City Council quickly decided to remove the statue at Cesar E. Chavez Memorial Park and to seek new names for the spaces and schools named after the labor leader. Joel Fajardo, the mayor, said the urgency was needed “to let our children know that we took this seriously, to make sure that we have a society that values the victims, that trusts the survivors.”

Mr. Chavez visited Milwaukee during the 1960s, and a life-size statue of him was installed on the city’s south side in 2016. It was wrapped in black plastic this week and removed on Friday morning. A brick structure bearing the logo for the United Farm Workers union still stands.

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