WILLIAM BRANGHAM: Just two weeks ago, cities# across the country were finalizing plans for## celebrations of Cesar Chavez day.

Then# an investigative report from The New## York Times revealed allegations that Chavez# sexually abused women and girls for years,## including Dolores Huerta, with whom he# co-founded the United Farm Workers union, or UFW.

Now many of those cities# are canceling those plans,## and a day that was once a celebration has become# a painful reminder of his now tarnished legacy.

Stephanie Sy reports.

STEPHANIE SY: On a day## that once celebrated him, communities are# now moving swiftly to distance themselves## from disgraced labor leader# Cesar Chavez, who died in 1993.

A New York Times investigation this# month uncovered evidence that Chavez## sexually abused women and girls for years# while leading the farmworkers movement.

LUVIAH ROBLES, Student, San Francisco State# University: Hearing about these allegations## is definitely a hard thing to digest,# but it's also a hard thing to.. STEPHANIE SY: Cities like Milwaukee and# Austin canceled celebrations entirely,## while others emphasized the movement over the man.# In Denver, where a Chavez statue was dismantled,## activists instead celebrated Si Se# Puede Day, in English, Yes We Can.

And the patch of grass that bore Chavez's name# for two decades had a new handwritten sign,## Dolores Huerta Park, after the woman who# co-founded the United Farm Workers union.## Huerta herself, now 95, was revealed by The# New York Times to have been raped by Chavez.

GERALDO CADAVA, Northwestern# University: I'm hoping that,## even though this is really difficult# news and devastating news to absorb,## that it might give some new life to the farmworker# movement to get out from under his shadow.

STEPHANIE SY: Geraldo Cadava is a professor of## history and Latino studies# at Northwestern University.

GERALDO CADAVA: I think historians have already# made the move toward recognizing that the United## Farm Workers was a broader social movement.# I think what placing Dolores Huerta at the## foreground of the movement now does, on the one# hand, it acknowledges women's contributions and## the idea that women have always been part of# the union and were central to its successes.

I guess I would only caution against just simply# replacing Chavez with Huerta and lionizing her,## coming to lionize her in the same way# that we lionized Cesar Chavez,because## to replace one hero with another hero could# also stunt the movement in some ways, I think.

WOMAN: Women who speak up.

STEPHANIE SY: Last week, both Minnesota and# California, which was the first state to## recognize Chavez's birthday as a holiday, quickly# passed new laws renaming March 31 Farmworkers Day.

STATE SEN.

SUZETTE MARTINEZ VALLADARES# (D-CA): This is not about one narrative.## It's about honoring generations of# sacrifice, of resilience and hope.

STEPHANIE SY: And the UFW itself# canceled its planned events,## calling the allegations against# Chavez shocking and indefensible.

Taken together, it marked a nearly unthinkable# fall from grace for the late civil rights icon,## once mentioned in the same breath as# Martin Luther King Jr.

and whose name## and image adorn schools, street signs# and murals nationwide, those tributes,## once a point of pride, now a source# of pain in cities like Los Angeles.

RAUL CLAROS, Founder, California Rising:# Cesar Chavez Avenue needs to be replaced.## I have a 10-year-old little girl who lives# in that building on Cesar Chavez, who today,## after school, I'm going to have to sit down# around the dinner table and explain to her## why we're out here doing this, what the# rumors, the allegations and the facts are.

STEPHANIE SY: There, the Board of# Supervisors has now voted to erase## Chavez's name from county streets and# buildings.

Phoenix has done the same.

Betty Guardado is a member of the city council.

BETTY GUARDADO, Phoenix City Councilmember: For# us to be able to act on this as fast as we did,## it just means that we're not going to tolerate# this type of behavior and that we're going## to continue to hold everyone accountable,# that we will continue to lift the victims,## that we will continue to do# the right thing as a city.

STEPHANIE SY: Still, what's next will likely# be tougher than removing street signs,## a full reckoning with Chavez's# legacy, both the vital role he## played in advancing civil rights and the# disturbing truth of his sexual abuse.

In a letter to the public this afternoon, the# Cesar Chavez Foundation said: "During this time## of painful internal reflection, we do not want to# lose sight of the very real threats our community## currently faces.

We cannot let this moment# fracture what so many worked so hard to build,"## a sentiment echoed by the current# president of the UFW, Teresa Romero.

TERESA ROMERO, President, United Farm Workers:# You know, we have in one hand Cesar Chavez,## the man who committed horrible acts that we're# not going to justify, that we don't condone.

On the other hand, we have# Cesar Chavez, the organizer,## who brought thousands and thousands of# people together to be able to work for## farmworkers.

And, unfortunately, those# two things came from the same man.

STEPHANIE SY: For the "PBS# News Hour," I'm Stephanie Sy.