Tarrant County won’t recognize César Chávez Day next year, after county commissioners voted Tuesday to observe Veterans Day instead.
Their decision ends a 25-year streak of honoring Chávez, the late civil rights activist known for leading the American farmworkers labor movement of the 1960s and ’70s. A New York Times investigation published in March detailed allegations that he sexually abused girls and women throughout his advocacy, including Dolores Huerta, with whom he co-founded United Farm Workers, the largest labor union for farmers in the U.S.
“Due to the disturbing information about César Chávez abusing women and minors, it would be completely and totally inappropriate for Tarrant County to recognize César Chávez Day on March 31st,” County Judge Tim O’Hare said in a statement in March following the allegations. Commissioners did not comment on the schedule change during their July 14 meeting.
Commissioners adopted the county’s holiday schedule for the 2027 fiscal year, which starts Oct. 1 and goes to the end of September next year. The schedule includes 13 paid holidays:
- Veterans Day on Nov. 11
- Thanksgiving Day on Nov. 26
- The day after Thanksgiving on Nov. 27
- Christmas Eve on Dec. 24
- Christmas Day on Dec. 25
- New Year’s Day on Jan. 1
- Martin Luther King Jr. Day on Jan. 18
- Presidents’ Day on Feb. 15
- Good Friday on March 26
- Memorial Day on May 31
- Juneteenth on June 18
- Independence Day on July 5
- Labor Day on Sept. 6
César Chávez Day falls on March 31, which was his birthday. It is not a federal paid holiday.
Commissioners considered replacing César Chávez Day with Veterans Day on the county holiday schedule in 2024 but ultimately abandoned the proposal after pushback from residents.
After the allegations against Chávez came to light, cities and counties across Texas moved quickly to remove mentions of his name and legacy from government buildings and other commemorations.
In Fort Worth, city officials removed honorary street sign toppers recognizing Chávez within a day of the allegations becoming public. Fort Worth ISD’s state-appointed board of managers renamed an elementary school named for Chavez to Esperanza Elementary, the Spanish word for “hope.”
Texas Gov. Greg Abbott said the state will no longer observe the holiday. He plans to work with lawmakers to remove any mention of the holiday from state law during next year’s legislative session.
Cecilia Lenzen is a government accountability reporter for the Fort Worth Report. Contact her at cecilia.lenzen@fortworthreport.org.
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