The Abuse Allegations Against a Civil Rights Icon, and a 48% Rise in Oil Prices
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In theory, I knew that this kind of thing can happen in any family. Upstanding citizens are always turning out to be secret criminals, and I wouldn't even call my cousin Alan an upstanding citizen. But it's one thing to know and another thing to understand. Alan, murder me? What the hell was Alan thinking? From Serial Productions and The New York Times, I'm Em Gessen, and this is The Idiot. Listen wherever you get your podcasts. From The New York Times, it's The Headlines. I'm Tracy Mumford. Today's Thursday, March 19th. Here's what we're covering. The New York Times gets a lot of tips. Some of them turn into things and some of them don't. You know, it sounded almost unbelievable. But as I talked to some of these women, it just made me think that there was something there.
My colleague Manny Fernandez followed up on a tip that came in a while back about Cesar Chavez, one of the most famous figures in the American civil rights movement. Chavez rose to prominence in the late 60s, advocating for Latino farm workers. He went on to have streets named after him, annual parades in his honor. He was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom. The tip kicked off an investigation that ultimately found extensive evidence that Chavez, who died in 1993, groomed and sexually abused girls. All of the women that we talked to had not publicly revealed their stories before. One of the reasons they had been reluctant is they worried about tarnishing his legacy. They worried about sort of destroying all that.
That weighed on them, and that sort of guilt and pressure made them very scared about coming forward to tell their stories. In digging into the allegations, Manny, along with Times investigative reporter Sarah Hertz, talked with more than 60 people, including some of Chavez's family and top aides. They also reviewed hundreds of pages of records, emails, photographs, and uncovered what appears to be a pattern of sexual misconduct. Two women, who are now in their 60s, describe Chavez molesting them starting at age 12 and 13. Both grew up on the compound of United Farm Workers, the organization Chavez co-founded. One said he told her he'd known they belonged together since he first saw her at nine.
Also, Dolores Huerta, who started UFW with Chavez and is a civil rights icon in her own right, says he raped her, something she kept a secret for nearly 60 years. Huerta said she was afraid no one would believe her and that she didn't report it to the police because they were hostile toward the union. Other women described being sexually harassed by Chavez and whispers about his behavior circulated in the UFW's inner circles. A handful of Chavez's relatives and former union leaders have been aware of various allegations for years, but there is no evidence that they made any efforts to fully investigate. In response to questions, Chavez's family told The Times the allegations are deeply painful and said, quote, we honor the voices of those who feel unheard and who report sexual misconduct.
When my colleagues asked the UFW questions, the union canceled its annual celebrations for Chavez, which would have been at the end of this month. March 31st is often celebrated as Cesar Chavez Day. Since The Times investigation came out yesterday, officials across the country have been grappling with how to respond. At Fresno State University, for example, a statue of Chavez on campus was covered up by a black sheet. There are discussions underway about renaming the many schools, streets, and parks named in his honor. Several states and cities have canceled plans that they had to observe Cesar Chavez Day. Some have proposed renaming it Farm Workers Day. In the Middle East, a series of attacks yesterday raised fears about even more dramatic disruptions to the global energy supply.
Iran said that Israel attacked a giant offshore natural gas field. And in retaliation, Iran began launching missiles at gas facilities in Qatar, a US ally. Those strikes have continued into this morning. Altogether, these are some of the most significant attacks on energy sites of the war so far, and investors are worried that more oil and gas facilities in the region could be targeted.
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