Cesar Chavez street signs are gone in Fort Worth. Should council have voted 1st?
The Fort Worth city council has rescinded part of a resolution that honorarily named a north Fort Worth thoroughfare after now disgraced civil rights icon Cesar Chavez. But some city council members questioned the process that led to the honorary street sign toppers being removed before the council vote.
The city voted unanimously Tuesday morning to remove honorary street designations along 28th Street, which were added by the city in 2020. Chavez’s name appeared between North Main and Beach Street. On March 19, street toppers were removed from the street.
This decision comes after a New York Times investigation revealed that Chavez, who died in 1993, groomed and assaulted girls for years who were connected to the movement that led to better pay and conditions for farmworkers. Dolores Huerta, 95, who co-founded the United Farm Workers with Chavez, told the newspaper she was raped and impregnated twice by Chavez.
According to the resolution passed by the city Tuesday, “allowing an honorary designation to remain despite these concerns would weaken the integrity of the City’s process and erode public trust.”
Fort Worth’s street designation was honorary, meaning the street’s official street name did not change. The 2020 resolution also included a section from North Main to Jacksboro Highway honoring Huerta. The designation and street topper for Huerta will remain.
City Councilman Carlos Flores said he contacted Assistant City Manager William Johnson, City Manager Jay Chapa, and Mayor Mattie Parker after learning about the allegations, and Fort Worth Transportation and Public Works staff were told to remove the street toppers. Flores then contacted several Hispanic groups and stakeholders to explain the situation.
“I want to emphasize that Ms. Huerta’s status ... is not tarnished, her historic contributions or her legacy of advocacy and leadership for the Hispanic community,” Flores said.
Chavez signs removed before city council vote
City Councilman Chris Nettles said he doesn’t disagree with the removal of the street toppers but questioned the process that led to it, asking whether the city council should have voted on the resolution before the removal.
Chapa said that, after speaking with city staff, it was determined that it was not a good reflection of the city to have the street toppers remain. They decided to remove the toppers and keep them in storage until the vote.
Nettles raised concern about setting a precedent that one person’s vote or action could move the city forward when it should require a vote by the city council.
“I am not in agreement with what we have done, and I think that moving forward, we need to make sure that we’re not invalidating in our own process that we have set in policy when we vote every single time we come to this dais,” Nettles said.
City Councilwoman Elizabeth Beck agreed with Nettles, saying there are street toppers across the city, and if one city council member can direct the removal without a vote, it puts the council on a “slippery slope.” There needs to be a conversation among the council, and the community should have a chance to voice its opinion, she said.
“I fully support Councilman Flores’ resolution today to rename or to remove that naming designation,” Beck said. “But anything that requires a council vote to do should require a council vote to undo, regardless of professional opinion or not, because it wasn’t your professional opinion that got us that street topper it was the vote of council.”
Flores noted that he sent an email to the mayor, city staff, and city council about the issue, but did not receive a response from any city council member. Some members were away at a conference, and he did not have the opportunity to talk with everyone individually, so he decided email was the most expedient way to communicate.
The honorary naming followed years of work by advocates who wanted to rename a street in Chavez’s honor. The city chose 28th Street because of its prominence in a heavily Hispanic north Fort Worth.
Schools, streets and more recognize Chavez
In Texas and across the country, Chavez’s name is on schools, streets, neighborhoods, buildings, universities and parks. Fort Worth has Cesar Chavez Primary School in Diamond Hill. Downtown Dallas has a boulevard named after him.
In Texas, Cesar Chavez Day has been considered an optional state holiday, though Gov. Greg Abbott said that it’s coming to an end. In a statement, Tarrant County Judge Tim O’Hare said it would be inappropriate to recognize Cesar Chavez Day. He aims to replace the holiday with Veterans Day in the 2027 calendar.
The Cesar Chavez & Dolores Huerta Committee of Tarrant County, which formed in 2016, changed its name to ¡Sí Se Puede! Committee of Tarrant County. Sí Se Puede, or “Yes, you can,” is the iconic motto of the United Farm Workers of America.
Chavez and Huerta helped found the National Farm Workers Association, which later merged with the Agricultural Workers Organizing Committee to become the United Farm Workers. United Farm Workers aims to empower migrant workers through nonviolent tactics to have livable wages and safe working conditions.
