Civil rights leader Dolores Huerta says she had 2 children after sexual abuse by Cesar Chavez

Civil rights leader Dolores Huerta on Wednesday broke her silence on her past sexual abuse by labor rights icon Cesar Chavez that resulted in secret children. It comes a day after the United Farm Workers union distanced itself from annual celebrations of its founder, Chavez, amid what it said were troubling allegations.In a statement Tuesday, the union said allegations of “abuse of young women or minors” were concerning enough to urge people around the country to participate in immigration justice events or acts of service instead of the typical events in March to commemorate Chavez’s legacy.Huerta and Chavez founded the National Farmworkers Association, which later became United Farm Workers, and have been widely regarded as crucial in advocating for better workplace conditions and rights for farmworkers.Huerta breaks silence Huerta on Wednesday posted on her Facebook in response to the New York Times’ multi-year investigation into Chavez’s sexual misconduct. According to the New York Times investigation, Chavez also sexually abused two underage girls in the 1970s. The Times investigation says the abuse occurred roughly between 1972 and 1977, when Chavez was in his 40s. The women told the Times they were molested starting at ages 12 and 13, and one of them said she was raped at 15. Both women told the Times they stayed silent for years, for fear of tarnishing his legacy.Huerta explained that she “can no longer stay silent and must share my own experiences.”“I am nearly 96 years old, and for the last 60 years have kept a secret because I believed that exposing the truth would hurt the farmworker movement I have spent my entire life fighting for,” Huerta said in a statement. Huerta said she experienced two sexual encounters with Chavez during the 1960s.”The first time I was manipulated and pressured into having sex with him, and I didn’t feel I could say no because he was someone that I admired, my boss and the leader of the movement I had already devoted years of my life to,” Huerta said. “The second time I was forced, against my will, and in an environment where I felt trapped.”After those two encounters with Chavez, Huerta said she became pregnant and chose to keep those children secret and arranged for them to be raised by other families. Huerta said she has maintained a deep relationship with those two children, who became close with her other children.But Huerta said even her other children did not know “the full truth” on how those two children were conceived until a few weeks ago.Video above: Who is Dolores Huerta?”I carried this secret for as long as I did because building the movement and securing farmworker rights was my life’s work. The formation of a union was the only vehicle to accomplish and secure those rights, and I wasn’t going to let Cesar or anyone else get in the way,” Huerta said. “The farmworker movement has always been bigger and far more important than any one individual. Cesar’s actions do not diminish the permanent improvements achieved for farmworkers with the help of thousands of people. We must continue to engage and support our community, which needs advocacy and activism now more than ever.”Huerta encourages survivors and people impacted by any type of sexual violence to visit the Dolores Huerta Foundation website for a list of resources for support.Chavez family releases statementA statement from the Chavez family read: “Our family is shocked and saddened to learn of news that our father, Cesar Chavez, engaged in sexual impropriety with women and minors nearly 50 years ago.”As a family steeped in the values of equity and justice, we honor the voices of those who feel unheard and who report sexual abuse.”This is deeply painful to our family.”We hope these matters are approached thoughtfully and fairly. We ask for understanding and privacy as we continue to process this difficult information.”As family members, we also carry our own memories of the person we knew. Someone whose life included work and contributions that matter deeply to many people. We will process and be responsive to the experiences of others as we hold cherished memories of our father.”We hope that these conversations are approached with care, fairness, and compassion for everyone involved.”History of celebrationsSeveral Cesar Chavez celebrations in San Francisco, Texas and Chavez’s home state of Arizona were canceled at the request of the foundation, which also said it’s become aware of disturbing allegations about Chavez during his time as president of the union. Organizers of canceled events did not immediately respond to the AP’s requests for comment.Both groups said they’d be working to establish ways for anyone who might have been harmed by Chavez to share experiences confidentially.“These allegations have been profoundly shocking,” the union statement said. “We need some time to get this right, including to ensure robust, trauma-informed services are available to those who may need it.”California became the first state to establish March 31, Chavez’s birthday, as a day commemorating the labor leader. Others followed. In 2014, then-President Barack Obama proclaimed March 31 as National Cesar Chavez Day, urging Americans to honor his legacy.Streets, schools and parks bear Chavez’s name. Born in Yuma, Arizona, Chavez grew up in a Mexican-American family that traveled around California picking lettuce, grapes, cotton and other seasonal crops. He died in California in 1993 at age 66.Chavez is known nationally for his early organizing in the fields, a hunger strike, a grape boycott and eventual victory in getting growers to negotiate with farmworkers for better wages and working conditions.Farmworkers are crucial to agribusiness in California, which grows nearly half the nation’s fruits, nuts and vegetables.Chavez protested against poor pay and often-miserable work conditions. There were no toilets in the fields for workers, who weeded fields with short-handled hoes that forced them to bend over for hours at a time.Bosses frequently ignored the health and wages of their workers, many of whom were Spanish-speakers in the country temporarily or illegally and had little political or legal clout to prevent abuses.The Associated Press contributed to this report.