In San Francisco, a mural featuring Cesar Chavez was painted over on Wednesday morning at a renowned home in Northern California. This decision followed recent allegations accusing Chavez, a prominent labor leader, of sexually abusing women and girls involved in the farm labor movement.
The mural adorned the Latin Rock Music House in San Francisco’s Mission District, a venue celebrated for hosting legendary performers and honoring numerous Latino icons. Richard Segovia, the homeowner, explained the swift decision to remove Chavez’s image.
“I wanted to send a clear message and take immediate action,” Segovia stated.
Segovia, known for his advocacy for women and support for young artists, reached out to the muralist he collaborates with immediately after a New York Times investigation brought the allegations to light. Dolores Huerta, cofounder of the United Farm Workers (UFW), has identified herself as a survivor of the alleged abuse by Chavez.
On Wednesday morning, artist Carlos “Kookie” Gonzalez joined Segovia to paint over the mural.
“Given the allegations and their confirmation, this is simply unacceptable,” Gonzalez remarked.
Gonzalez said the work was important to complete promptly. He also noted that he painted a Cesar Chavez mural at San Francisco State more than 30 years ago and has been told there are plans to temporarily cover that piece until a permanent replacement can be created.
Gonzalez took ABC7 Eyewitness News to a location in San Francisco where he was planning to add another mural of Chavez. After the allegations, he removed Chavez from his preliminary sketches and added Dolores Huerta front and center instead.
“We can’t tolerate that. No matter how much you love the guy. It felt like a gut punch and a betrayal,” said Gonzalez.
Segovia and Gonzalez said they plan to discuss which artwork should replace the Chavez mural at the Mission District home.
The San Francisco Unified School District has not made a decision yet. In a statement, Supervisor Jackie Fielder, who represents the Mission where there’s a street named after Chavez, said in part: “My office will support community efforts to remove Cesar Chavez’s name from any District 9 institutions.”
The same sentiment is at San Francisco State University, where they’ve had a mural of Cesar Chavez, and in the student center, they’ve named it after him for decades.
“I think it would be appreciated to change the name,” said Andrew Harper, SFSU Senior.
“The plan now is to initially cover the name, which is going to leave the student center open, and cover the mural. For us to rename the building and potentially put another mural there has to be a process and put to through the chancellor’s office. That will take longer,” said Alejandro Rios, Executive Director of Associated Students at SFSU.
The student center’s mural and name are set to be removed next week while students are on Spring break. Rios said one of the ideas is to name it the Dolores Huerta Student Center.
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