Public references to Cesar Chavez are being removed across the US.

By JACEY FORTIN

He was a champion of the civil rights movement and a hero to many Latinos. On memorials across the United States, his name was chiseled in stone, and his likeness cast in bronze.

Today, he is a pariah.

On Wednesday, a New York Times investigation revealed that Cesar Chavez, who co-founded the United Farm Workers union, sexually abused women and girls, including the union’s co-founder, Dolores Huerta. In the days since, cities, states and schools have sought to erase their associations with him.

Statues have been covered, and festivals canceled. But that is only the beginning, as Chavez’s name is connected with countless buildings, parks and schools. Here are the initial steps to tear down memorials to the man, who died in 1993, and instead highlight the movement that he started and that others now carry on.

San Fernando, California

In San Fernando, the City Council quickly decided to remove the statue at Cesar E. Chavez Memorial Park and to seek new names for the spaces and schools named after the labor leader. Joel Fajardo, the mayor, said the urgency was needed “to let our children know that we took this seriously, to make sure that we have a society that values the victims, that trusts the survivors.”

Milwaukee

Chavez visited Milwaukee during the 1960s, and a life-size statue of him was installed on the city’s south side in 2016. It was wrapped in black plastic this past week and removed Friday morning. A brick structure bearing the logo for the United Farm Workers union still stands.

Denver

A bronze bust of Chavez was removed from its marble pedestal Thursday in Denver’s Berkeley neighborhood. Mike Johnston, the mayor, said at a news conference that “we will not let the sins of one man set back the commitment of a community who has fought for decades to deliver on the fundamental belief that everyone is entitled to justice.”

Santa Ana, California

Of the many Chavez murals and memorials in Santa Ana, California, the one at Santa Ana College is especially famous. It was done in 1997 by Emigdio Vasquez, a California muralist whose work was a chronicle of Latin American history. The fate of the mural was unclear as workers covered it with brown paper Thursday.

Fresno, California

At Fresno State University, a Chavez statue was covered in black tarp on Wednesday, and then hidden by a plywood box before it was removed Friday. “We will take the time to listen, to learn,” the president of the university, Saúl Jiménez-Sandoval, said in a statement, “and to act in a way that honors our history and respects our ongoing responsibility to one another.”

Dallas

A Chavez statue has been removed in Dallas, and city officials are working to officially remove the name from a school and a boulevard. And while state observances of Cesar Chavez Day on March 31 have been canceled across Texas, Dallas officials are seeking to rename the holiday “Dolores Huerta Day” and move it to April 10, her birthday.

Los Angeles

Statue removal can be done in a day, but changing the names of streets and schools can take a little more time. School board members in Los Angeles have called to rename Cesar Chavez Elementary School in the neighborhood of El Sereno. Finding a new name would be a community effort.