Armando Ibarra Helps to Contextualize Reports about César Chávez

In the wake of the New York Times story that revealed reports of sexual assault, abuse, and harassment by César Chávez, CLS faculty member Armando Ibarra is helping press outlets understand the story’s impact and community responses. In an interview with the Associated Press, Prof. Ibarra noted that the UFW’s 1960s-era victories made the organization the most successful effort to organize farmworkers in the history of the United States. In his view, it was these great successes that made the revelatons of violence committed by Chávez so devastating. In an interview with Wisconsin Public Radio, which included Milwaukee alder JoCasta Zamarripa and UMOS president José Martínez, Prof. Ibarra argued that communities need both to recognize the UFW’s contributions and acknowledge the suffering of those Chávez harmed. “We move forward,” he suggested, “by holding both these truths at once.” Armando is a Vilas Distinguished Achievement Professor in the School for Workers, the Chicanx/e & Latinx/e Studies Program, and UW-Madison Extension.