The Riverside Latino Network is asking the community to weigh in on the future of its César Chávez memorial statue in downtown Riverside – months after Dolores Huerta, co-founder of the United Farm Workers, publicly accused the late labor leader of sexual abuse.
Huerta, 95, released a statement in mid-March alleging that Chávez sexually abused her in the 1960s, resulting in two children who were raised by other families.
Chávez, who co-founded the United Farm Workers with Huerta, died in 1993.
The allegations "rocked our community," the network said in a July 29 statement, describing waves of "anger, frustration, confusion, sadness, empathy, hate, hurt, compassion for victims and many questions about what to do next."
Board member Art Alcaraz told the Gazette the organization has been trying to be “deliberate and intentional” in their next steps regarding the statue.
“It took us three and a half years to raise the money to create the statue and the memorial, and it's not something you can just change overnight," Alcaraz said. "We have to ultimately do what's best for our community and our interests."
The network postponed its annual César Chávez Breakfast, originally scheduled for March 30, and replaced it in May with a Celebración de la Comunidad y Justicia event honoring farmworkers, youth and education. actor Tony Plana delivered the keynote, focused on the value of education. The network called the event "a resounding success."
Since then, the network has gathered community input through a QR-code survey — shared on its Facebook and Instagram pages and asking whether to keep, modify or remove the memorial — as well as through in-person outreach: a table at the Thursday night ArtWalks in downtown Riverside, an appearance at Mayor Patricia Lock Dawson's multicultural forum, and comments at a City Council meeting.
The memorial, on the Main Street Mall in downtown Riverside, was unveiled June 13, 2013, after a fundraising effort Alcaraz estimated brought in between $350,000 to $400,000.
Alcaraz said feedback so far breaks down into three camps: some residents want the memorial left as is, some want it removed, and a majority favor keeping it but modifying it to honor farmworkers more broadly, rather than centering Chávez alone.
"You can't deny the farmworker contribution to our area — it's been significant," Alcaraz said. "We need to keep that focus as we look at what we're going to do with the memorial."
The network has consulted the memorial's original sculptor, who is drafting concept options that would add tributes to farmworkers, Alcaraz said. Once the concepts are ready, the network plans another round of public input — likely another QR-code survey or community forums — before making a final decision.
Any changes would require fundraising: five or six pillars at the site would need to be modified, at a cost of several thousand dollars each, Alcaraz said, and the network has not set a timeline.
The memorial is privately owned by the network, but its future is being weighed alongside a separate, city-led review of the César Chávez Community Center on University Avenue.
Mayor Lock Dawson called for public input on both sites in March, after the city pulled a César Chávez Day proclamation from its March 24 council agenda and instead observed United Farmworkers Day. The city's Park and Recreation Commission is reviewing options for the community center; the city held public forums on the potential renaming July 30 and Aug. 1 at the Youth Opportunity Center, 2060 University Ave.
