In this file photo from March 29, 2014, a float leads about 1,000 participants marching through downtown Fort Worth to honor the birthday of American labor and civil rights activist Cesar Chavez.
Ron T. Ennis
Star-Telegram
Texas will not observe Cesar Chavez Day following a report about the civil rights leader’s history of sexual abuse, Gov. Greg Abbott announced Wednesday.
A New York Times investigation found that Chavez, a union leader known for championing farmworker’s rights, groomed and assaulted girls for years and assaulted Dolores Huerta in the 1960s. Chavez and Huerta founded the United Farm Workers union.
The report has lead to the cancellation of Cesar Chavez Day celebrations across the country. The March 31 holiday marks Chavez’s birthday. He died in 1993.
In a statement, Abbott said the state will no longer observe the holiday.
“I am directing all Texas state agency heads to comply,” Abbott said. “In the upcoming legislative session, I will work with Texas lawmakers to remove Cesar Chavez Day from state law altogether. Reports of the horrific and widely acknowledged sexual assault allegations against Cesar Chavez rightfully dismantle the myth of this progressive hero and undermine the narrative that elevated Chavez as a figure worthy of official state celebration.”
In addition to being a federal commemorative holiday, Texas observes Cesar Chavez Day as an “optional holiday.” That means state agencies are open, but may have minimal staffing.
In Tarrant County, the commissioners court would have to decide whether to observe the holiday. Their next scheduled meeting is on April 14, after Cesar Chavez Day. County Judge Tim O’Hare said he is looking into legal ways to end the county’s recognition of the holiday without calling a special session.
Republican County Commissioner Manny Ramirez said in a statement that the allegations, if substantiated, feel like a betrayal of trust and power. He said to celebrate Cesar Chavez Day in any way would feel wrong to him.
As the father of three daughters, the grandson of migrant farmworkers and the first Latino ever elected to the county commissioners court, Ramirez said he will instead be honoring Hispanic Americans’ contributions to the nation on March 31.
Cesar Chavez Day will be business as usual for the City of Forth Worth, as it was not listed as an employee holiday prior to the allegations.
Earlier in the day, the Texas House of Representative’s Mexican American Legislative Caucus said it’s “prepared to lead efforts to remove the Cesár Chávez state holiday and replace it with recognition that uplift leaders like Dolores Huerta.”
Changing the holiday or its name would require legislative action and couldn’t be done by Abbott unilaterally through an executive order, according to a spokesperson for the caucus, which is chaired by Rep. Ramón Romero, Jr., a Fort Worth Democrat.
“No one, regardless of their status or legacy, is above accountability,” the caucus said in a written statement. “When a leader puts himself ahead of the people and the movement he was meant to serve, that is a profound betrayal of the very values that movement was built on. We stand with survivors and support a full and transparent reckoning.”
This is a developing story. Check back for updates.
This story was originally published March 18, 2026 at 4:11 PM.
Fort Worth Star-Telegram
Eleanor (Elly) Dearman is a Texas politics and government reporter for the Fort Worth Star-Telegram. She’s based in Austin, covering the Legislature and its impact on North Texas. She grew up in Denton and has been a reporter for more than six years.
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