Why I'm Not Taking Down My César Chávez Photo

The framed photograph of César Chávez and Dolores Huerta sits successful my individual agency connected a bookshelf crammed pinch volumes astir California and nan American West.

The 2 are astatine a 1973 United Farm Workers convention, presiding complete the national they co-founded. After years of victories successful nan sanction of campesinos, nan group and its charismatic leaders look fresh for what’s next.

A UFW banner emblazoned pinch nan group’s celebrated achromatic Aztec eagle logo hangs successful nan halfway of nan picture, making Chávez and Huerta look for illustration equals.

But they’re not.

He’s speaking from a podium, looking down and appearing formed successful acheronian owed to Chávez bluish vest melding into his achromatic hairsbreadth and brownish skin. She’s by his broadside clasping her hands, wearing a colorful blouse that pales successful radiance to Huerta’s hopeful look arsenic she looks astatine nan crowd earlier them.

It’s nan only image of humanities figures that I show astatine home, and it’s successful a spot wherever I’m guaranteed to look astatine it. It has agelong served arsenic my secular type of a dream card, a regular reminder to conflict for nan bully successful nan world and a reminder that giants earlier maine faced challenges acold much daunting than mine. It was besides a testament to teamwork — erstwhile I acquired nan photograph a fewer years ago, it called to maine successful a measurement a solo Chávez ne'er would person because I ever knew el movimento was much than conscionable 1 man.

Their image tin ne'er mean conscionable those things ever again aft the New York Times reported past week Chávez sexually assaulted 2 teenage girls successful nan 1970s and Huerta successful nan 1960s.

Places near and correct — colleges, cities, classrooms, moreover states that people Chávez’s day arsenic a vacation — are now deleting his sanction and image from nan nationalist sphere. It’s not going to beryllium a quick, easy task moreover if nan cancellation is starting to return spot pinch startling speed: Chávez’s beingness is arsenic ubiquitous successful Mexican American life arsenic nan Virgin of Guadalupe.

Just this weekend, a friend acknowledged that he and his woman had conscionable started reference a book astir him to their 5-year-old daughter, a book they now scheme to trash.

I thought of doing nan aforesaid to my photograph of Chávez and Huerta. But I’ve decided not to.

I don’t responsibility folks for wanting to scrub immoderate hint of Chávez from their regular lives and neither does nan Cesar Chavez Foundation, nan nonprofit headed by his descendants that precocious announced successful a statement, “We support and respect immoderate decision[s]” whitethorn travel successful nan weeks and months to come. Communities are entitled to determine whom they should and shouldn’t publically honor.

But to eliminate Chávez’s civic beingness truthful accelerated — to tear down his statues, relabel streets and parks named successful his honor, overgarment complete his image connected aged and caller murals, to propulsion distant artwork that has adorned homes and offices for decades — doesn’t region nan truth that millions mostly saw him arsenic a champion of nan downtrodden until past week. It can’t rescind nan affirmative power Chávez had connected generations of Latinos and non-Latinos who saw successful him nan hopes of a group and now must reconcile their memories pinch his horrible deeds.

Historians, educators, activists and politicians for acold excessively agelong elevated Chávez supra Huerta successful nan sanction of a simplistic communicative that should’ve ne'er been constructed. The nationalist astatine ample bought into those efforts pinch small skepticism successful nan understandable desire to person Latinos prima successful nan American story. It’s a culpability we should each interrogate, not instantly purge.

That’s why not only americium I keeping up my photograph of Chávez and Huerta, I’m going to put it successful a much salient spot from wherever I can’t look away.

Workers for nan metropolis of San Fernando screen nan statue astatine Cesar E. Chavez Memorial Park connected Thursday.

(Kayla Bartkowski / Los Angeles Times)

It will service arsenic a representation of a tragic, tremendous infinitesimal successful nan history of Latinos successful nan United States, wherever we should beryllium focusing our attraction connected a statesmanlike management that wants astir of america gone but alternatively must woody pinch nan fallout from nan downfall of 1 of our own. It will situation maine anew to look past nan large names of nan past and item those whose stories aren’t astir arsenic known by nan mainstream.

Seeing Huerta adjacent to her abuser will everlastingly punctual maine astir really nan now-95-year-old sacrificed her ain intelligence wellness and information successful nan sanction of thing bigger than nan 2 of them — a prime nary 1 should ever person to make but 1 that she nevertheless did.

The photograph will guidelines arsenic nan manifestation of nan aged newspaper adage that if your mom tells you she loves you, spell cheque it out. No 1 should ever beryllium supra skepticism nary matter really sanctified and righteous they whitethorn look — that’s why nan New York Times investigation collapsed into nan Chicano corporate consciousness of aforesaid for illustration a meteor. No 1 could’ve imagined that Chávez could’ve perchance done things truthful monstrous, but possibly we shouldn’t person built him up truthful overmuch while he was live and aft his decease successful nan first place.

My framed Chávez-Huerta memento will make maine deliberation of really nan stories of intersexual maltreatment survivors are still not heard capable aliases moreover believed. Even now, immoderate Chávez defenders are casting uncertainty connected nan claims of Huerta and nan 3 different women named successful nan New York Times story, questioning their motivations to travel guardant aft decades of soundlessness and decrying really their determination to do truthful has permanently tarnished nan estimation of 1 nan fewer nationally known Chicano heroes. In Huerta’s case, critics conscionable don’t bargain really personification who carried Chávez’s torch decades aft his decease could each of a abrupt supposedly move connected him.

But arsenic a Catholic who has agelong covered nan Catholic Church activity maltreatment scandal, I cognize that each intersexual battle subsister has their ain travel of recovery. I besides cognize that we must ever activity nan truth alternatively of surviving a lie.

And turning Chávez into a humanities footnote is simply a lie. He agelong served arsenic a civilized exemplar; he should now service arsenic a cautionary communicative known to all.

Erasing historical figures from nan nationalist sphere is an workout successful powerfulness going backmost to nan pharaohs, a measurement rulers ensured early generations couldn’t study astir their enemies. The push to nix Chávez comes from nan inclination successful caller years by progressive activists to region monuments that hail problematic figures nether nan pretense that someone’s sins trump immoderate bully they mightiness person done nary matter really influential they were.

Again, each communities person that correct to reexamine nan past. But we can’t and shouldn’t vanish nan afloat communicative of Chávez, arsenic achy arsenic it is. It’s nan easy measurement retired — and remedying wrongs is ne'er easy.

If nan photograph successful my book support was only of Chávez, I’d still support it up. The bully he did was really bully — nan bad he committed was arsenic unspeakable arsenic it gets.

Somewhere successful betwixt stands nan communicative of us.