The recent accusations against César Chávez have rocked the movement and union he helped spearhead in the 1960s. They have also tarnished his legacy, perhaps forever. These are indeed shocking and well documented allegations. Child sexual predation at a moment when the consciousness of the nation is called upon to come to terms with the issue on many levels.

The bombshell New York Times report by Manny Fernandez and Sarah Hurtes is about as throughly researched and credible as a press report can be. It was not a judicial finding and of course a cornerstone of the American justice system is the right of the accused to mount a defense. But a deadman cannot stand trial so the evidence at hand must stand forever in the court of public opinion.

To begin to come to grips with the enormity of what has occurred the best place to start may be with the statement of Dolores Huerta, who stood shoulder-to-shoulder with Chávez throughout the entire struggle. In her statement she writes:

“I am nearly 96 years old, and for the last 60 years have kept a secret because I believed that exposing the truth would hurt the farmworker movement I have spent my entire life fighting for.”

Now might be good time to talk about The United Farm Workers of America and the union that came about as a result of its organizing efforts, the UFW. I personally have lived for fifty years in California. I have been to the agricultural heart of California’s Central Valley and other farming locations throughout the state.

I can tell you that laboring in those fields is the devil’s work. These are brutal conditions, particularly in warmer months when many of the produce related crops are harvested and especially with climate change extending the warm season and intensifying the heat.

The organizing work that Cesar Chávez, Dolores Huerta, and Gilbert Padilla did was missionary in its scope. It profoundly changed the life trajectories and expectancies of countless itinerant workers. When Dolores Huerta tells us that protecting the farmworker movement was her motivation for keeping this secret we should reflect long and hard on that. In the end movements succeed because they are greater in their totality than the individuals who lead them are individually.

There will be an effort in the coming days by civic leaders to sort through how to administrate ubiquitous civic works that bear Chávez’s name. Many, perhaps all will be changed. Dolores Huerta was a labor organizing icon as well. Her courage, her now all too apparent sacrifice were both foundational to the United Farmworker movement. The name Dolores Huerta might look pretty good on a street sign or two.