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Bill Clinton awarded Cesar Chavez the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the nation\u2019s highest civilian honor, the year after the civil rights activist died in 1993. Barack Obama made Cesar Chavez Day a federal holiday and established the Cesar E. Chavez National Monument. Joseph R. Biden Jr. put a bronze bust of Mr. Chavez in the Oval Office.<\/p>\n
None of them knew at the time about Mr. Chavez\u2019s dark past, which emerged this week in a New York Times investigation<\/a> that revealed allegations that the labor leader had sexually abused girls for years. Since the news broke on Wednesday, leaders in both parties across the nation have swiftly acted to remove Mr. Chavez\u2019s name from schools<\/a>, parks<\/a> and<\/a> holidays<\/a>.<\/p>\n So far, none of the living former Democratic presidents who previously honored Mr. Chavez have spoken about the allegations, which also included that Mr. Chavez had raped Dolores Huerta, who co-founded the United Farm Workers with him. Ms. Huerta was also awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom by Mr. Obama.<\/p>\n Former presidents typically respond slower to news events than current officeholders.<\/p>\n When Mr. Clinton awarded Mr. Chavez the presidential medal posthumously, in 1994, he said that \u201che was, for his own people, a Moses figure.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n In 2011, Mr. Obama issued a proclamation<\/a> declaring March 31, which was Mr. Chavez\u2019s birthday, Cesar Chavez Day to \u201chonor Cesar Chavez\u2019s enduring legacy.\u201d<\/p>\n Mr. Biden not only put the bust of Mr. Chavez in the Oval Office, but also gave it a place of prominence behind the Resolute Desk<\/a>. In a 2023 video, he said he had been \u201cinspired\u201d by Mr. Chavez, saying, \u201cI was proud to place the bust of his likeness in my office so that you walk in my office, you can\u2019t forget what he taught us.\u201d<\/p>\n A spokeswoman for Mr. Obama and spokesmen for Mr. Clinton and Mr. Biden did not respond to requests for comment.<\/p>\n For decades, Mr. Chavez, who died in 1993 at the age of 66, has been celebrated as a civil rights champion and a seminal labor leader. He is one of the most prominent Latinos in American history, with schools and governments honoring his efforts to organize farmworkers and fight for Latino equality. Nearly 50 schools are named<\/a> after Mr. Chavez in California alone.<\/p>\n The revelations that he sexually abused young girls caused outrage and a nationwide reconsideration of his legacy.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n