California legislative leaders are moving to rename Cesar Chavez Day as Farmworkers Day in light of sexual abuse allegations against the late labor leader.

California was the first state to designate Chavez’s birthday, 31 March, as a day to honor the civil rights leader nearly 30 years ago. In 2000, the state legislature passed a bill to make it an official paid day off for state employees and require the state to start teaching students about his legacy and his involvement in the labor movement in California.

In the wake of shocking allegations that Chavez sexually abused girls and the co-founder of the United Farm Workers of America union, Dolores Huerta, there have been calls to rename institutions, events and memorials across California and the US honoring the farm worker labor organizer.

The California Museum said it will remove Chavez from the state’s hall of fame – something it has never done before. Some local and state leaders in both parties urged their communities not to celebrate Chavez’s birthday on 31 March, and to rename buildings and streets named for him. Celebrations for Chavez in California, Texas and in his home state of Arizona have been canceled at the request of the Cesar Chavez Foundation.

Latino leaders and community groups quickly condemned the alleged abuse by Chavez but emphasized that the farm worker movement was never just about a single man. Chavez died in California in 1993 at age 66.

The New York Times first reported Wednesday that it found Chavez groomed and sexually abused young girls who worked in the movement. Huerta, too, revealed to the newspaper that she was a victim of the abuse in her 30s.

Huerta, who is a labor rights legend in her own right, said in a statement on Wednesday that she stayed silent for 60 years for fear her words could hurt the farm worker movement. She said she did not know Chavez had hurt other women.

Huerta described two sexual encounters with Chavez; one in which she said she was “manipulated and pressured” and another when she said she was “forced against my will”. She said both led to pregnancies, which she kept secret, and that she arranged for the children to be raised by other families.

Huerta’s resolve and dedication to civil rights, women’s rights and social justice won wide admiration. Some, including a group of Democrats in Texas, are calling for Huerta’s name to replace Chavez’s on places that bear his name.

Born in Yuma, Arizona, Chavez grew up in a Mexican American family that traveled around California picking lettuce, grapes, cotton and other seasonal crops. Chavez is known nationally for his early organizing in the fields, a hunger strike, a grape boycott, and eventual victory in getting growers to negotiate with farm workers for better wages and working conditions.

Chavez’s family said in a statement that they are devastated by the allegations.

“We wish peace and healing to the survivors and commend their courage to come forward. As a family steeped in the values of equity and justice, we honor the voices of those who feel unheard and who report sexual abuse,” the family said.