Civil rights activist Dolores Huerta shared a statement on Medium accusing the late Cesar Chavez of sexually assaulting her amid allegations that he sexually abused two girls under the age of 18 in a New York Times investigation.

“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 wrote. "I have encouraged people to always use their voice. Following the New York Times’ multi-year investigation into sexual misconduct by Cesar Chavez, I can no longer stay silent and must share my own experiences.

"As a young mother in the 1960s, I experienced two separate sexual encounters with Cesar. 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. The second time I was forced, against my will, and in an environment where I felt trapped.

Huerta said both sexual encounters with Chavez resulted in pregnancies, which she kept secret and the children were arranged to be raised by other families who she said gave them stable lives and have developed relationships with her and her children over the years.

"But even then, no one knew the full truth about how they were conceived until just a few weeks ago," she added. "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. I channeled everything I had into advocating on behalf of millions of farmworkers and others who were suffering and deserved equal rights.

"I have never identified myself as a victim, but I now understand that I am a survivor — of violence, of sexual abuse, of domineering men who saw me, and other women, as property, or things to control."

Huerta said she came forward because the New York Times article indicated that Chavez had abused others. The article also reported that Chavez raped Huerta in 1966, which she said she chose not to report as she feared no one within the union would believe her.

Chavez was an American labor leader and civil rights activist who, along with Huerta and Gilbert Padilla, co-founded the National Farm Workers Association, which later merged with the Agricultural Workers Organization to form the United Farm Workers labor union, gaining prominence in the 1960s by urging farm workers to demand better wages through peaceful protests. The Cesar Chavez Foundation also released a statement addressing the allegations on Tuesday (March 17).

“The Foundation is working with leaders in the Farmworker Movement to be responsive to these allegations, support the people who may have been harmed by his actions, and ensure we are united and guided by our commitment to justice and community empowerment,” the foundation said.

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