A Cesar Chavez Mural in the Mission, Tagged

This mural sits near Mission and 22nd Street. When I walked past in mid-April, it was covered in graffiti tags.

The screen on the mural says: “Dream! Name two heroes. 1. Rigoberta Menchú 2. César Chávez.” That framing, a kid doing homework with Chavez as an obvious answer, is what made this a community mural. Now it reads differently.

The context: in March 2026, the New York Times reported that Cesar Chavez sexually abused at least two underage girls and that Dolores Huerta, his co-founder of the United Farm Workers and now 95, disclosed that Chavez had assaulted her twice. The story broke on March 18. Within a day, a mural at the Latin Rock Music House on York and 25th was painted over. The artist, Carlos “Kookie” Gonzalez, replaced Chavez with Puerto Rican musician Carmelito Velez. SF State covered the Chavez name on the student center building with tarps.

The murals without a clear owner to make that call are still standing — including this one. Some have been tagged. Whether that’s protest, opportunism, or both is hard to say.

SF’s relationship with Chavez ran deep. The Mission has celebrated him every year. Cesar Chavez Street runs three miles through the district. Supervisor Rafael Mandelman said the street name’s “days are numbered.” The school district is monitoring. Nothing is renamed yet.

The farmworker movement he helped build remains real. The question now is whether the institutions built around his name can separate the work from the man. In the Mission, that conversation is happening on the walls.

Neighborhood context and other murals are in the Mission District guide.