Updated 17 hours ago - Politics

Dallas, Fort Worth work to break ties with César Chávez

Animated illustration of a street sign that reads "César Chávez" being wiped clean. — Illustration: Aïda Amer/Axios; Photo: Getty Images

For decades, schools, roads and history books have honored the late César Chávez's contributions to the labor rights movement.

Now, public officials are trying to remove his name from everything.

Why it matters: Chávez, who died in 1993, has long stood as a central symbol of Mexican American identity and labor activism.

His legacy is being reassessed after recent allegations from Dolores Huerta and others that he sexually abused women and girls as young as 12.

The latest: The state of Texas has said it will no longer celebrate César Chávez Day, a federal holiday since 2014, or teach students about Chávez in public schools.

The city of Fort Worth removed street sign toppers with his name off Northeast 28th Street and voted unanimously on Tuesday to rescind his honorary designation on a stretch of State Highway 183.
The city of Dallas has a similar request to rename a boulevard named after Chávez that stretches almost two miles near the Dallas Farmers Market. The city named the road after him in 2010.

Reality check: Severing ties will take time because so many places bear Chávez's name.

Dallas, Fort Worth and Little Elm have elementary schools named after him.

What they're saying: "Honorary street names are not merely symbolic gestures. They are public endorsements of character, conduct and legacy," Fort Worth City Council Member Carlos Flores said at Tuesday's council meeting.

Zoom out: Historians say this moment could broaden public understanding of the farmworker movement beyond a single figure.

"The farmworker movement always was, and remains, much more than Chávez," Columbia University history professor Lori Flores tells Axios.

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Dallas, Fort Worth work to break ties with César Chávez

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