Just a few weeks ago we removed the portrait of Noam Chomsky from the AWTT gallery because of his association with the sexual predator Jeffrey Epstein. As far as we know Chomsky himself was not involved in sexual abuse of girls, but he assisted Epstein in protecting his reputation from negative exposure. Even though Chomsky was not directly involved in sex trafficking, we thought the issue critical enough that we had to take an emphatic stand. Abuse of women and girls has to be condemned—outweighing all other considerations. We thought—hoped—we wouldn’t have to deal with this again.

And then came, just a few days ago, the shocking revelations of Cesar Chavez’s abuse and raping of girls and women who were part of the United Farm Workers (UFW) movement. Like Chomsky, Chavez (1927-1993) was one the early portraits in this project. Chavez was—and is—an icon of our civil rights and labor history. His leadership proved  that with militant, nonviolent organizing, protest and boycotts, poor workers could confront their racist exploitation by corporate power and win better wages, housing, health care, education, working conditions, respect and dignity. Chavez’s persistence and courage on the behalf of people suffering debilitating discrimination was on a par with Martin Luther King, Jr. 

Chavez shared the guidance of the UFW with Dolores Huerta, the less prominent, but equally important organizer. I am embarrassed that when I painted Chavez I did not paint Dolores Huerta, too. Chavez was the more famous figure and, I thought, sufficient to make the point about the power of organizing migrant workers. Now we find out that among Chavez’s victims was Huerta herself whom he abused and raped. Huerta, still living at 95, tells us that she kept her rape a secret for fear of tarnishing the reputation of Chavez and the migrant workers movement. To her, the success of the movement was more important than accountability for Chavez.  

We will treat Chavez’s expulsion in the same way we did Chomsky’s—taking the portrait out of circulation but leaving up the record of important civil rights and social justice work. And in the next few months I will add a portrait of Dolores Huerta.

At AWTT we say that our mission is to provide models of courageous citizenship. We stand for justice, truth, compassion, equality, and the dignity of all people. We had previously used the inspiring struggle of Cesar Chavez against corporate farmers to take that stance. That will continue. But now we also take that stance against Cesar Chavez on behalf of the girls and women he abused.

I wanted to add an interesting comment we received recently from Emily Albee, a high school social studies educator. Her comments highlight the teaching opportunity that this difficult moment in American history offered: 

“Recently, our classroom was presented with a very challenging learning opportunity to confront a mainstream historical narrative requiring analysis, truthtelling, and reflection. Working in collaboration with Americans Who Tell the Truth, our school was fortunate to receive eight truth teller portraits on loan to incorporate into various project based learning activities. One of these portraits was Cesar Chavez. Chavez has been revered and celebrated professionally for his work with engaging in community organizing, non-violent resistance, and achieving labor rights for farm workers. On the morning of March 19, 2026 about 30 seconds before I planned on teaching my students the impacts of Chavez’s accomplishments to civil rights and labor history in the United States, a news story about Dolores Huerta and Chavez’s other victim broke.

“After discussing Huerta’s painful story, I reminded my students they are living through a historical reconciliation of including all of the stories and truth tellers to challenge the original narrative. As educators, we are required to pivot and reexamine our thinking and instructional strategies constantly. I chose to engage in careful conversations with my high school students that day about why our Cesar Chavez lesson was not going to be taught the way I had originally planned. The difficult and necessary truth telling of Dolores Huerta demands acknowledgement that Chavez was a man in power who engaged in horrendous and criminal acts of violence against women and children. Huerta was required to sacrifice her truth, safety, and well being for the greater cause and to protect the image of Chavez’s character and leadership that many relied on. 

“In the 1960s, the truth about Chavez’s behavior would have destroyed the farm labor movement built by many. Moving forward, the narrative of Cesar Chavez’s accomplishments is forever changed and it should be. Including the truth telling of Dolores Huerta and others recognizes the painful moments and intense sacrifices that are interconnected with the labor achievements for farm workers. These narratives can no longer exist in isolation. This truth telling also requires the reconciliation of current men in power with similar allegations of abuse not being held to the same accountability standards creating massive injustices in society and the dismantling of the rule of law. As students of history and critical thinkers, we are required to have these difficult conversations to reflect and reevaluate our thinking when new information arises, include multiple perspectives, and allow room for the truth to prevail in order to live in a just society.”