FRESNO, Calif. (KFSN) — On March 18, The New York Times published a detailed investigation into sexual assault allegations against decorated labor leader Cesar Chavez.
“I could not believe what I was discovering as a historian, but I felt like I needed to tell it,” said Dartmouth Professor Matthew Garcia.
It was a story that rocked the country immediately, allowing victims to share their truth in a way they never had before, including icon Dolores Huerta.
Behind the story is Dartmouth Professor Matthew Garcia, who tipped off author Manny Fernandez, leading to a years-long investigation into Chavez.
Garcia is a LatinX professor, author and historian who has always been proud of where he comes from.
“My grandparents were farm workers who traveled up and down California in the ’30s and ’40s, and I know how important farm worker justice is,” said Garcia.
His curiosity and interest led him down a long, heavy path that revealed a dark side of labor leader Cesar Chavez.
“And then I went to the archive in Detroit, where the UNF papers are, and saw the ’70s and the relationship to Synanon and heard the tapes of them tearing down Dolores and tearing down one another, and I realized something had not been revealed,” Garcia said.
The more he looked, the more he found, including sexual abuse allegations against Chavez.
Accusations, Garcia says, he did not have enough evidence to reveal himself.
He made some calls and ultimately connected with New York Times editor-at-large Manny Fernandez, who got to work.
Five years later, the story was published by Fernandez and Sara Hurtes.
“It’s another chapter that no one can write but them, and I am just so in awe of them,” Garcia said.
A powerful piece that revealed the gut-wrenching claims of many women who stayed quiet in fear.
Garcia has felt a mix of emotions, highs and lows, taking a moment to embrace all that’s happened.
“I feel like now justice has begun to be served. I don’t think it’s worked through it yet, and I was also feeling heavy because I am committed to the history,” said Garcia.
Author Fernandez is a Fresno State alum who has given Garcia credit and admiration for his work, which has led to today’s change.
“He corrected me in a text and said, ‘Matt, you did this, you had the courage. You spoke up when other people did not. You did this,'” Garcia said.
Garcia is hopeful that communities will continue to push the movement forward and stand by farm workers.
Click here for video story from ABC 30.
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