The Dark Side of Cesar Chavez

The Dark Side of Cesar Chavez

From Espooky Tales by Cristina & Carmen

March 20, 2026 · 1h 14m · Episode 245

About this episode

This episode discusses new allegations of abuse against Cesar Chavez and explores his troubled legacy.

On 3/18, the NYT dropped its years-long investigation into Cesar Chavez, and in it, survivors told their stories for the first time. It revealed that he abused them when they were minors. In this episode, we share the new allegations, but also discuss a troubling past that involves anger issues, being controlling, the wet lines, his admiration for a cult leader, and more. sexual assault resources: https://doloreshuerta.org/sexual_assault_resources/ Historias Unknown: https://www.historiasunknown.com/ sources: https://www.nytimes.com/2026/03/18/us/cesar-chavez-sexual-abuse-allegations-ufw.html?smid=url-share https://www.nytimes.com/2026/03/18/us/cesar-chavez-sexual-assault-allegations-takeaways.html?rsrc=flt&smid=url-share https://medium.com/@dolores_huerta/march-18-2026-e74c20430555 The Crusades of Cesar Chavez by Miriam Pawel https://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2011/07/the-madness-of-cesar-chavez/308557/ https://www.texasstandard.org/stories/cesar-chavez-complicated-legacy-united-farm-workers-immigration/ https://www.latimes.com/california/story/2021-03-29/cesar-chavez-problematic-miriam-pawel

People in this episode

Hosts: Cristina, Carmen

Topics covered

  • Cesar Chavez
  • sexual abuse allegations
  • historical investigation
  • activism
  • controversial figures

Keywords

  • Cesar Chavez
  • sexual assault
  • activism
  • historical investigation
  • Dolores Huerta

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: NYT, Historias Unknown, The Atlantic, Texas Standard, LA Times

Books & works: The Crusades of Cesar Chavez

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