A day after Dolores Huerta turned 96, scores of residents gathered in the heart of San Francisco’s Mission District for the city’s annual farmworker march — a yearly event that now carries a new name, date and central figure.
For 33 years, the march honored César Chávez and was held around his March 31 birthday. In the wake of sexual abuse allegations against Chávez that have shaken Latino communities nationwide, organizers renamed the event in Huerta’s honor and moved it to April to coincide with her April 10 birthday.
The claims, detailed in a recent investigation, include accusations from women who said Chávez abused them as children in the 1970s. Huerta, his longtime collaborator and co-founder of the United Farm Workers, also said publicly that she was abused and had kept it secret for decades to protect the movement.
“The farmworkers need our support today more than ever,” said Eva Royale, a former United Farm Workers staffer who has organized San Francisco’s annual march for more than three decades. “Farm workers need peace, jobs and justice, so we need to move forward.”
This year’s events began Friday with a Labor & Community Breakfast at the San Francisco Longshoreman’s Hall. On Saturday, marchers gathered at 19th and Dolores streets for the newly renamed Dolores Huerta Parade and Festival before heading east along 19th Street to Mission Street and continuing to 24th Street. The march ended at Folsom Street, followed by a street festival along 24th Street through the afternoon.
Organizers say the renaming of the parade is part of a broader effort to center farmworkers, not just individual leaders, and to recognize figures like Huerta, whose contributions have often been overshadowed.
A broader reckoning
The changes to the parade reflect a wider push to reevaluate Chávez’s legacy across California.
Chávez’s name appears on streets, schools and public buildings across California, many now under review as communities grapple with the allegations. Following the reports, Gov. Gavin Newsom signed legislation renaming the March 31 holiday to Farmworkers Day, effective March 2026.
In San Francisco, that conversation has become especially visible around César Chávez Street, a major thoroughfare that cuts through the Mission District.
Many are unsettled with the speed of the changes. “We reacted too soon,” said John Mendoza, 63, festival organizer for the last 17 years. “Now they’re considering naming it after the karate guy, Chuck Norris Boulevard. We need to push back on that.”
“I’m not okay with the renaming,” said Judy Martínez, 63, attending the festivities under a red UFW umbrella. Her father, Larry Martínez, was Cesar Chávez’s bodyguard and as a child didn’t know the taste of grapes. “I believe in due process,” said Martínez, legal staff at Alameda County Counsel. “This happened 60 years ago and in less than four days you want to strip everything down like he didn’t exist? Rather than erasing Chávez’ from public view, add Huerta’s, she offered.
Not everyone agrees.
“The renaming is essential,“ said 21-year-old San Jose State University student Alyssa Gamino at the street festival. “It’s only fair – we have to hold people accountable, no matter if they’re in the grave because it represents our morals… of course it’s important what he did for workers’ rights too, but if he hurt women, he shouldn’t get all the recognition.
“And yes, change the street name to Dolores Huerta,” Gamino added. “She’s actually accomplished the same thing as César Chávez so why not rename it after her? She’s been an essential part of the movement.”
Supervisor Jackie Fielder has said she supports efforts to remove Chávez’s name from institutions in District 9, which includes the street and a local elementary school.
At the same time, the shift is already playing out across the cultural and artistic landscape of the Mission and beyond.
Just days after the allegations surfaced, a mural of César Chávez at a well-known Mission District home was painted over by the property owner and artist, who said the decision was made quickly in response to the reports.
The mural, located at the Latin Rock Music House near York and 25th streets, had long been part of a site celebrating Latino cultural figures. In its place, artists said they are now considering new imagery, including honoring Dolores Huerta.
Similar efforts are unfolding across the Bay Area, where artists are removing or reworking images of Chávez in schools, public spaces and planned murals following the allegations.
The changes “feel very reactionary, I mean, where does it all end?” asked 31-year-old Erik Zepeda Flores, an environmental activist at his booth. “Erasing him from history erases the complexity of the conversation. Removing him from the movement as a whole discredits his accomplishments as an organizer.”
But, he reflected, there is a lesson for Latino men. “There’s tons of machismo that can harm not only people around you but your own legacy – that no matter how much good you do, the negative, toxic machismo can negate all that. This has led me to minimize the harm.”
For some artists, the decision is about accountability and centering survivors. For others, it raises questions about how to reconcile Chávez’s legacy with the harm described.
Latino communities grapple with leader’s legacy
For many residents, the moment has been difficult, forcing a reckoning between Chávez’s role in advancing farmworker rights and the harm described in the allegations.
“I don’t idolize anyone anymore,” Martínez said. “I don’t idolize César Chávez or Dolores Huerta. I don’t idolize anyone anymore because it’s about the movement.”