Group seeks Tarrant County honor for Cesar Chavez
by CHRIS HAWES / WFAA-TV
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FORT WORTH — An influential group of Hispanic activists plans to ask that Interstate 35W through Tarrant County be renamed for Cesar Chavez. On Friday, the Cesar Chavez Committee is holding a public meeting in Fort Worth to discuss how to begin the process of honoring the civil rights leader with a roadway designation.Francisco Ramirez is among those supporting the effort. He remembers the first time he saw Cesar Chavez; it was on television. Ramirez had just immigrated to the United States from Mexico, and the example set by Chavez was clear."When you have a dream, and you follow your instinct, you can get there," Ramirez said.More than 20 years later, Ramirez is a successful Fort Worth businessman, the owner of Mexico de Mis Amores and two other restaurants. He counts Chavez as one of his heroes.Chavez began his adult life by serving in the Navy for two years. He went on to become a community organizer, forming the organization that would later become the United Farm Workers.As a civil rights activist, Chavez led and supported protests that resulted in better wages for farm workers as well as collective bargaining rights.Cesar Chavez died in 1993.On Friday, Renny Rosas and other members of the Cesar Chavez committee are holding a public meeting to announce plans to push for a Tarrant County roadway named in honor of Chavez."Cesar Chavez, to us, is the equivalent of Martin Luther King in the black community," Rosas said.Currently, all of Interstate 35 in Texas is designated as the Purple Heart Trail, but Rosas and other supporters see the Tarrant County section, I-35W, as ideal for a name change."I-35 means a lot to our community," Rosas said. "It’s the pathway to El Norte, you know, which is how the immigrants refer to coming to North America."Advocates of the highway name change are supported by Rep. Lon Burnam, a long-time friend of Chavez. Burnam, however, has not taken a position on which roadway should be named for the civil rights leader, saying he will listen to the community.The Tarrant County Cesar Chavez Committee was inspired by successful efforts in Dallas. After months of debate, the City Council renamed a stretch of a downtown street for Chavez last month.E-mail chawes@wfaa.com