Cesar Chavez's legacy in California is uncertain following allegations of sexual abuse involving him, raising questions about his legacy. The former labor leader and civil rights activist was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom posthumously in 1994 by President Bill Clinton and later created the Cesar E. Chavez National Monument in Keene. Despite the controversy, Dr. Oliver Rosales, a professor of history and ethnic studies at Bakersfield College, said Chavez and his movement, which he led, played a central role in Mexican American civil rights history. He emphasized the importance of the farm worker movement and its role in reforms for farm workers who had been left out of key labor protections.