El Paso County has approved changing a mural honoring César Chávez, as two area school districts have begun the sometimes emotionally charged process of dropping the late labor leader’s name from schools.
For decades, Chávez had been hailed as a Mexican American hero for his labor and civil rights work organizing farmworkers. He died at the age of 66 in 1993.
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The erasure of Chávez’s name from streets, parks, monuments and other public spaces by cities, states and organizations nationwide is part of the fallout from revelations of decades-old sexual abuse allegations involving girls and women, including accusations he sexually assaulted civil rights leader Dolores Huerta, one of the founders of the United Farm Workers.
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El Paso County Commissioners Court, in a 4-0 vote — Commissioner David Stout was absent — May 4, approved updating the Chávez mural at the county’s Ascarate Park.
Chávez’s face, along with an image of Huerta holding a “Huelga” (labor strike) sign, is prominent on the faded Aztec-themed mural decorating a side wall of a handball court.
El Paso County Commissioners Court approved changes be made to a mural of late labor leader Cesar Chavez at Ascarate Park in El Paso following the surfacing of sexual abuse allegations against the late Mexican American civil and labor rights leader.
“The goal of a reworked mural will include less focus on individuals and focus more on the larger importance of the farmworkers’ movement,” a county summary stated.
Commissioners approved $6,300 for the mural update, with funding coming from money the El Paso Community Foundation set aside in 2024 for art projects, county documents stated. The cost breakdown is $1,800 for supplies, $2,000 for rental equipment and a $2,500 artist stipend.
The mural was created in 2012 by muralist Jesus “Cimi” Alvardo with students from the Challenge Program at the Juvenile Detention Center, a project summary by Alvarado stated. The renewed mural should be completed in three to six weeks.
YISD’s César Chávez Academy in El Paso faces name change
The Ysleta Independent School District is planning to hold public meetings to gather community input on possibly renaming the district’s César Chávez Academy in the Lower Valley.
The YISD board of trustees on April 22 took the first step by approving a policy change allowing for the renaming of schools. The board will set up the community-driven process to possibly rename the academy at a future date.
The Las Cruces public school board last month voted to establish a process to rename César Chávez Elementary School in the city, the Las Cruces Sun-News reported. The new name is expected to be adopted by July 1.
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The YISD school-renaming policy was approved by a 5-1 vote. Trustee Connie Woodruff was absent. Shane Haggerty cast the lone vote against.
Haggerty, who represents the Parkland High area of Northeast El Paso, said at the meeting that he was troubled that the allegations against Chávez arose more than 30 years after his death and that Chávez “never got his day in court.”
Haggerty spoke against what he saw as “the same kneejerk reaction, I feel, that so many other communities and organizations took where they did, it feels like, everything they could do to remove this guy (Chávez) from the history books.”
The César Chávez Academy is part of the Ysleta Independent School District, which is looking whether the name of the school in El Paso’s Lower Valley will be changed following sexual abuse allegations against the late civil and labor rights leader.
The César Chávez Academy sits in the heart of the Lower Valley, where many residents’ grandparents and great-grandparents were farmworkers, Haggerty said, adding that the community should decide whether the school’s name should be changed.
“César Chávez represents a dignity that was brought to the farmworkers, represents the union cards they got, represents that they finally had a voice,” Haggerty said. ” … To me the allegations against Chávez do not erase what the farmworker movement meant and still means, not just to the Chicano community but everyone in the Borderland.”
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The Eastside Democrats of El Paso submitted a letter to YISD asking that any renaming process be open, community driven and include public meetings to gather community input.
“This is very difficult for me personally,” Jaime Abeytia, an El Paso liberal political blogger with ties to organized labor and family connections to Huerta and Chávez, told the YISD board.
Abeytia urged the board for a “community driven approach” to any renaming, encouraging YISD to consider “the contributions that have been made not just by César Chávez but an army of individuals that history has forgotten.”
‘Erasing names does not erase history’
Jeff Cynor, president of the Ysleta Teachers Association, recalled at the meeting being a student at Riverside High School when Chávez spoke to students in the campus gym about the grape boycott and how it changed farmworkers’ treatment.
Cynor said he was shocked when he heard about the sexual assault allegations against Chávez.
The decision whether the academy name should be changed should be an inclusive process involving students, parents, educators and residents, he added.
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A statue of late labor leader Cesar Chavez stands outside Cesar Chavez Academy in El Paso, Texas, on March 19, 2026. The statue has drawn renewed attention amid fallout from sexual abuse allegations reported this week against Chavez, a co-founder of the United Farm Workers who died in 1993, prompting calls from at least one Ysleta Independent School District trustee to rename the school, though district officials say bylaws limit when name changes can occur.
“Figures like César Chávez and Dolores Huerta are part of a broader history that includes both complexity and undeniable impact,” Cynor said. “They helped elevate the dignity of farmworkers and brought national attention to labor rights and the struggles of Latino communities. That history matters, especially in a district that serves a predominantly Latino student population.
“Our schools should be places where students learn to engage with history honestly, including both achievements and shortcomings. Erasing names does not erase history.”
Daniel Borunda may be reached at dborunda@elpasotimes.com and @BorundaDaniel on X.
This article originally appeared on El Paso Times: El Paso looks to change César Chávez mural, school name