Inside the North Park Avenue building of Hope CommUnity Center, a familiar mural has taken on new meaning – and a new face. 

After nearly two decades, the community landmark has been repainted to honor Dolores Huerta, replacing the image of Cesar Chavez in the wake of recent allegations about his behavior that have reverberated through farmworker and immigrant advocacy circles. 

The updated mural was unveiled during a Tuesday public reopening event at the center’s North Park Avenue campus. 

For organizers, the transformation was not just artistic – it was deeply emotional. 

“When I learned about the news, it was very painful for a lot of the women from our staff and our community,” said Meilyn Santana, chief of staff for Hope CommUnity Center. “It brought back memories… and there was a lot of pain and disappointment.” 

The decision to replace Chavez’s image came quickly. Santana said the nonprofit leadership agreed “right away that something needed to be done,” initially covering the mural to avoid causing discomfort for visitors. From there, Colombian artist Alberto Gomez-Gomez – who helped create the original mural 17 years ago – returned to reimagine it. 

Within just seven days, the mural was transformed. 

Huerta, the often-underrecognized co-founder of the United Farm Workers, has long been a key figure in the farmworker movement. 

“We both agreed that celebrating Dolores Huerta would be the right thing to do,” Santana said. “She was such an important member in this movement … not as recognized as she should have been.” 

The timing also carried symbolic weight. The unveiling coincided with the end of Women’s History Month and what would have been Cesar Chavez Day on Tuesday. 

Santana described the process as one of collective healing. Women from the organization participated in removing Chavez’s image before watching Huerta’s portrait take shape. 

“We were angry when we were removing the face,” she said. “Then there was that healing moment … once we started seeing Dolores come to life, it was a true sense of healing and a new beginning.” 

The repainting follows a March 17 statement from the United Farm Workers nonprofit affiliate UFW Foundation, condemning allegations of abusive behavior involving Chavez and announcing the cancellation of all Cesar Chavez Day activities this month. The organization called the allegations “shocking” and emphasized its commitment to supporting survivors. 

“We know this is difficult and painful and the healing and safety of survivors is of utmost importance to us,” the statement said. “Today, with staff in California, Washington, Georgia, Michigan, New York, Illinois and Arizona, the UFW Foundation continues to empower communities and will continue to center its work on protecting the most vulnerable.” 

At Hope CommUnity Center, that broader reckoning is shaping the organization’s next steps. 

“We definitely want to continue to empower, to uplift our women, … on making sure that women have their rights and feel supported, feel seen, feel valued, feel respected,” Santana said.  

For artist Gomez-Gomez and his family, the project also carried personal significance. His daughter, Shaiya Gomez, who assisted in the restoration, said returning to the mural after 17 years was both nostalgic and meaningful. 

“It felt really good to restore it, to make it look brand new,” she said. 

She described the decision to replace Chavez’s image as “an act of resistance,” adding that it sends a broader message about listening to and believing women. 

“I think that’s very powerful,” she said. “I hope that it’s something we can follow as an example.”