Milwaukee’s statue of Cesar Chavez outside the El Rey Family Market on 916 S. Chavez Drive has been removed following allegations of sexual abuse against the late labor leader.
A New York Times investigation uncovered allegations of Chavez’s grooming and sexual abuse of several people, including girls as young as 13. Milwaukee’s statue of Chavez, owned by the Villareal family, has stood in the plaza of El Rey since 2016.
Ernesto Villareal, El Rey co-founder, said in a video posted to Facebook on March 19 that the family wished to take the statue down, and showed that they had it wrapped in plastic tarp to hide Chavez’s likeness. By 7 a.m. on March 20, the statue and accompanying plaque were removed from the plaza– its home for the last 10 years.
Villareal told the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel the allegations were “too big to ignore.” The family notified the city that they would be removing the statue, and there was no protest, he said.
“We wanted to do this quickly,” Villareal said, in Spanish. “We respect these women. Their bravery was huge.”
The City of Milwaukee has also honored labor organizer’s legacy through murals and, in 1996, renaming a stretch of 16th Street as South Cesar E. Chavez Drive. However, it’s unclear whether there are yet any plans to rename city landmarks honoring Chavez.
Ald. JoCasta Zamarripa said in a news release that she would take part in discussions to determine whether South Cesar E. Chavez Drive should continue to bear his name.
Zamarripa said the farmworker movement, which began in the 1960s and is credited with bringing attention to abuses in the agricultural industry, has never been solely tied to one man, but “that legacy belongs to the people.”
“Cesar Chavez’s contributions to the farmworker movement and to Latino civil rights are a matter of historical record. So is this,” Zamarripa said in the statement.
“Both things are true, and our community deserves leaders who will say so clearly rather than ask survivors to wait while we process our own grief.”
Juan Miguel Martinez, a county supervisor and labor organizer, posted a statement to his Facebook page calling for South Cesar E. Chavez Drive to be renamed “Dolores Huerta Way.” Huerta, who has come forward as a victim, is a co-founder of the National Farm Workers Association.
Drake Bentley and Sophie Carson contributed to this report.
Alyssa Salcedo covers Silver City, Layton Park and Burnham Park for the Journal Sentinel’s Neighborhood Dispatch. Contact: asalcedo@usatodayco.com.
Neighborhood Dispatch reporting is supported by Zilber Family Foundation, Bader Philanthropies, Journal Foundation, Northwestern Mutual Foundation, Greater Milwaukee Foundation, and reader contributions to the Journal Sentinel Community-Funded Journalism Project. Journal Sentinel editors maintain full editorial control over all content. To support this work, visit jsonline.com/support. Checks can be addressed to Local Media Foundation (memo: “JS Community Journalism”) and mailed to P.O. Box 85015, Chicago, IL 60689.
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This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Cesar Chavez statue in Milwaukee taken down amid allegations
Reporting by Alyssa N. Salcedo, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel / Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
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