Curator Karen Mary Davalos removed a 1969 portrait of Cesar Chavez by George Rodriguez from the exhibition "Chicano Camera Culture: A Photographic History, 1966 to 2026" at the Cheech Marin Center for Chicano Art and Culture in Riverside, California. The decision came after news reports on March 17 revealed that Chavez had assaulted multiple women and girls associated with the United Farm Workers, including allegations of rape against co-founder Dolores Huerta. Davalos, who curated the show, acted swiftly after a call from interim director Valerie Found, removing the photograph to avoid honoring a figure now seen as an abuser.
This removal matters because it reflects a broader reckoning within the art world over how institutions and curators handle problematic historical figures. The exhibition, the largest ever mounted by The Cheech, is the first comprehensive survey of Chicano photography spanning six decades. Davalos, with 35 years of curatorial experience, emphasizes her responsibility to artists, the institution, and the Chicano community. By removing the work, she signals that curatorial choices must evolve with new information, especially when presenting marginalized histories that have been overlooked or erased.