Flagstaff joins other cities nationwide in canceling or renaming annual César Chávez event in light of allegations linked to the farm labor leader

Groups move swiftly nationwide to remove images, honors for César Chávez, while others promote access to sexual assault and mental health counseling services

By Frank X. Moraga • www.AmigosNAZ.com ©2026

COCONINO COUNTY — Flagstaff joined other cities nationwide in canceling or renaming their annual César Chávez celebrations in light of the sexual assault allegations linked to the late farm labor leader.

For Coconino County, the cancellation included what would have been the 8th annual Community Recognition Breakfast, which was scheduled for Friday, March 20, 2025.

A new Hispanic community recognition event is scheduled for later this year.

In Arizona, actions have included the cancellation of the Tucson César Chávez March, while legislation is quickly moving forward to cancel César Chávez Day.

Since early this month, cities across the nation either canceled or renamed their celebrations ahead of the labor leader’s birthday on March 31, 2026. Their actions followed news of a potential explosive story by a national publication that was first reported by the San Antonio Express-News on March 6, 2026. The reports focused on revelations of a “sensitive matter” involving Chavez.

Those reports were confirmed when an extensive story by the New York Times was published on March 18 detailing allegations of years of sexual abuse by Chavez of minors and sexual assault incidents involving farmworkers rights labor leader Dolores Huerta. Huerta confirmed those assaults in the story.

Following the revelations by the New York Times, a variety of public and private entities moved swiftly to erase the Chavez name from their celebrations and honors, including the state of California and Los Angeles.

Locally, the Coconino Hispanic Advisory Council (CHAC) and Coconino County on March 17, 2026 announced the cancellation of the 8th annual César E. Chávez Community Breakfast that was to be held Friday.

Here is the official announcement: 

“The Coconino County Hispanic Advisory Council (CHAC) is aware of recent media reports regarding allegations involving César E. Chávez. In light of this information, out of respect for our community, we have decided to postpone our annual breakfast scheduled for Friday, March 20.

We plan to reschedule the event, with a renewed focus on celebrating the contributions and achievements of Hispanic residents in Coconino County. This has always been at the heart of the event, and we look forward to continuing that tradition in a way that reflects and uplifts our community.

Attendees who have already purchased tickets will be contacted directly with more information.”

Nationwide, a variety of national individuals and organizations have issued statements on the revelations including the League of United Latin American Citizens (LULAC), the Cesar Chavez Foundation, the United Farm Workers Union, Dolores Huerta and the Dolores Huerta Foundation.

In response to the reported abuses by the victims, links to a variety of sexual assault and mental health services were provided by CAUSE (see below), the Dolores Huerta Foundation (here) and the UFW (here).

 

See related stories on the reaction to the revelations.

Please see March 18, 2026 New York Times breaking investigative story:

• Cesar Chavez, a Civil Rights Icon, Is Accused of Abusing Girls for Years

Please see other stories:

• ABC 7 (Los Angeles) — Mayor Bass signs proclamation renaming LA.’s Cesar Chavez Day as holiday to Farmworkers Day
• Arizona Daily Star — Arizona moves quickly on legislation to end Cesar Chavez Day
• Arizona Daily Sun — Coconino Hispanic Advisory Council cancels event honoring César Chávez after sexual assault revelations
• Arizona Republic (subscription) — ‘Troubling’ Cesar Chavez allegations shift plans to honor civil rights leader
• Axios — UFW acts on allegations against César Chávez
• Colorado Sun — Denver replaces César Chávez name with “Si Se Puede” Day
• The Guardian — United Farm Workers union cancels Cesar Chavez events over abuse allegations
• Los Angeles Times — Momentum builds to erase Cesar Chase’s name from Schools, streets and parks
• Los Angeles Times (subscription)  — OPINION — And just like that, the Cesar Chavez myth is punctured. What’s next?
• MS Now — OPINION — Take Cesar Chavez name off everything — The years I spent defending Césara Chávez makes me feel like a fool
• NBC News — Officials across the U.S. push to remove Cesar Chavez’s name from streets, parks and holidays
• NBC News Bay Area — César Chávez Foundation ‘deeply shocked’ over civil rights leader allegations
• PBS — California moves to rename César Chávez Day over sexual abuse allegations
• Politico — What Cesar Chavez’s biographer says now
• Sacramento Bee — Sacramento to hold annual Cesar Chavez march amid ‘troubling’ abuse allegations
• San Antonio Express-News — Corpus Christi cancels César Chávez march amid rumors; Dolores Huerta drops out
• San Luis Obispo Tribune — Reckoning with Cesar Chavez and the future of the UFW
• Santa Barbara News-Press — End of days for Calle César Chávez
• Tucson Sentinel — César Chávez march in Tucson canceled over allegations of sexual abuse of minors
• USA Today — ‘Troubling’ allegations against Cesar Chavez prompt UFW to skip events
• Ventura County Star — Oxnard officials weigh pulling Cesar Chavez name from school, street
• Ventura County Star (subscription) — OPINION — What César Chávez cost the movement
• The Washington Post (subscription) — OPINION — César Chavez and the lies the left tells itself. I know them well

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Additional links to sexual assault, domestic violence and civil rights services provided If you or someone you know has experienced sexual assault, we encourage you to reach out for support:   RAINN’s National Sexual Assault Hotline: Call 1-800-656-4673 or text “HOPE” to 64673 Provides free, confidential support 24/7, year-round, in both English and Spanish Online chat and additional resources are available at: https://rainn.org/ National Domestic Violence Hotline:  Free and confidential support, 24/7, year-round, in both English and Spanish, and other languages for those impacted by relationship abuse Call 1-800-799-7233 or text “START” to 88788 CA Civil Rights Department:  State agency to report workplace sexual harassment or discrimination in English and Spanish Call 800-884-1684 Additional resources and an online chat at: https://www.thehotline.org/ Find local service providers near you using the national directory searchable by zip code: https://www.thehotline.org/get-help/directory-of-local-providers/