Accountability Over Icons: Why the Farmworkers' Movement is Bigger Than César Chávez

By Aimee Allison

Labor movement leader Dolores Huerta, at age 96, and other victims broke decades of silence to expose César Chávez as an abuser and pedophile. 

In this short video, Aimee Allison, founder and president of She the People, and former Democracy in Color president and podcast host, makes clear that accountability must prevail over fame and power. She points out that abuse thrives on silence and complicity. She also reminds us that the powerful farmworkers' movement is a collective of thousands, and far bigger than one man. 

We are profoundly grateful for the courage of Dolores Huerta and all the women who used their voices to tell the world the truth.

Video Transcript:

This transcript has been slightly edited for clarity.

Aimee Allison:

By now, you've probably heard the revelation about César Chávez . He's an abuser, a pedophile. Dolores Huerta, now 96 years old, along with a handful of other victims, have set the record straight. The truth is, whether told in farmworker labor movements, or in business, or church, or families, or schools, or in the Epstein files, the truth will set us free.

It doesn't matter how much money or power or fame the person has, even if that fame is based on the very real need and organizing for workers' rights. So let the record reflect who César Chávezz was as a person, as a man. I can guarantee you that over the decades, many people hushed this up or looked the other way because abuse depends on the silence and complicity of everyone. We're not just talking about abuse that happened 50 years ago. We all know that that abuse is happening today. Accountability freezes from the scourge of abuse that poisons so much and harms.

So many girls and women, and boys and men, just everyone. I mean, just think about the Epstein files, how many of those who took part in crimes are still walking around free. The Me Too movement of a few years ago was a stage, but it wasn't the beginning or the end.

There's another wave coming.

I know this could not have been easy for Dolores Huerta, but we can insist, all of us, that the ideals of justice are worth fighting for and tell the truth about people who abuse. And we should insist on the power and the beauty of the movement for farmworkers' rights that fight for the most vulnerable.

It was a movement that was more than César Chávez. It was made up of thousands of men and women. And Dolores Huerta, the woman who put the movement of justice above herself for all this time, I wish her peace. I want to express gratitude. I want to thank her for her witness, because after a lifetime of fighting for other people's freedom and dignity and voice, you have now embraced and grasped a whole other level of freedom.