Our Statement on Cesar Chavez

While we could write for days on this. This is our statement as of now.

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We're still processing. We stand with victims.

We don’t always issue statements when cases of discrimination, abuse, or unchecked power come to light. These situations happen far too often, and responding to each one would require dedicated full-time staff. However, for the past two years, we have partnered with the Palm Theater to showcase films in honor of César Chávez Day.

Last year, we shared the documentary Dolores, a powerful film that highlights the strength and sacrifices that leader Dolores Huerta endured in her fight for farmworker rights. This year, we had planned, and are still planning, to screen Invisible Valley, a 2021 documentary that explores the contrasting realities of undocumented farmworkers and music festival-goers in the Coachella Valley here in California. While we remain committed to sharing this important film, we will not be celebrating César Chávez Day.

We want to be clear about this statement. We are still processing the recent reporting by The New York Times, along with statements from Ana Murguía, Debra Rojas, Esmeralda Lopez, and Dolores Huerta. We are heartbroken for those who have come forward, and for the harm described. We hope that each person impacted is able to find some measure of solace as their truth becomes more widely known. We recognize the courage it takes to speak out, especially when that truth challenges deeply held narratives. We will never be able to fully comprehend the devastation of their experiences. Our hearts are with them and their families.

Over the past two days, we have seen a flood of statements from elected officials, institutions, and community leaders. We are encouraged to see that when abuse is reported, there are calls for accountability and justice. We believe survivors, and we center their experiences above all.

What we have not seen as much is an acknowledgment that this harm did not happen in a vacuum. It happened within systems of power, and systems of corporate exploitation.

Dolores Huerta has shared, “I believed that exposing the truth would hurt the farmworker movement.” We need to remember why this movement was so important to so many, and the conditions that shaped it.

In September 1965, Filipino farmworkers initiated the historic Delano grape strike, led by Larry Itliong and the Agricultural Workers Organizing Committee (AWOC). Over 1,000–1,500 Filipino workers walked off California vineyards to demand better wages and working conditions. César Chávez joined the strike shortly after.

Farmworkers were organizing for the most basic rights. Key demands included raising hourly wages from $1.25 to $1.40, increasing the piece rate for picking, securing collective bargaining rights to improve working conditions. What conditions? They asked for safety from pesticide exposure, drinking water in the fields, access to toilets. People were fighting for crumbs, for dignity, for survival. Multibillion-dollar corporations resisted the strikes and these demands for years.

Within this context, the figure of a leader was built. César Chávez became as famous as “a movie star.” He became untouchable. His power went unchecked. Abuse followed.

As a woman, this is heartbreaking, but not surprising. We are still processing. Harm like this does not exist in isolation and that is a really heavy concept to bear. What we know is this: women’s bodies and dignity cannot continue to be sacrificed to maintain power, progress, or reputation. If that is the cost of justice, then what are we fighting for?

As we continue to reflect on the recent news, we hope you can still join us to center the plight of farmworkers here in California, and the harsh conditions of their labor that persist to this day.