A mural with the most important character of Segundo Barrio can be found at E. Father Rahm Ave. (Azenett Cornejo/Borderzine.com)

Segundo Barrio: a ‘living history’ lesson

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EL PASO — In the heart of El Paso is Segundo Barrio, a port of entry to the United States. It’s the first community people see when they cross the border from Juarez, Mexico. Located on the city’s south side, Segundo Barrio is home to more than 8,000 people, of whom 50.8 percent are U.S. citizens, 13.7 percent are naturalized citizens and 35.5 percent are non-citizens, according to City of El Paso statistics. Yolanda Chávez Leyva, chair of the University of Texas at El Paso history department, calls Segundo Barrio the “heart of the Mexican diaspora.”

“El Segundo Barrio is one of the most historic barrios in the United States,” Chávez Leyva said. “[It] grew out of the migration of mexicanos to the United States going back to the 1880s and it’s been the starting point for thousands of families across the United States.”

The neighborhood is “very important” to El Paso, she said, because it is where the urbanization of the city began.

César Chavez Day – Image Gallery

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EL PASO − Every year on Cesar Chavez Day, the Centro de los Trabajadores Agrícolas Fronterizos holds a march in downtown El Paso to honor the man who started the movement for justice and dignity of farmworkers, La Causa. This year’s rally was the typical gathering of social activists, community leaders, students, farmworkers and artists. But what set this year’s rally apart from the rest was this year it was also a victory lap. In January, the Faculty Senate at the University of Texas at El Paso voted to remove Cesar Chavez Day as an official, observed school holiday. Through the leadership of student organizations and the community, the holiday was reinstated when the pressure forced the Senate to re-assess their decision.

People at the bottom seeking change still look up to César Chávez

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EL PASO — César Chávez was buried — to his wishes — in a plain pine coffin built by his brother, Richard. This was a simple, even selfless request from one of the most influential and celebrated figures in American history. It spoke to Chávez’s humility in his struggle for workers’ rights: to be remembered as a fellow soldier and not as a decorated leader or a messiah. The death of the figurehead meant a new life for the cause, La Causa became Nuestra Causa. The man would have celebrated 84 years of life this year.

César Chávez’ struggle rings again on the UTEP campus: This is just the beginning, says student leader

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ELPASO, Texas — A decision to remove César Chavez Day as an observed school holiday taken by the University of Texas at El Paso Faculty Senate touched a nerve at this Hispanic-majority institution. “We were under pressure to make a quick decision,” said Faculty Senate President Dr. Carl S. Lieb, a professor of biology. The vote on November 9 by the faculty Catalog and Calendar Committee, followed by a unanimous vote by the senate, was in response to a Texas State Legislature cost-cutting directive to remove two holidays from the school’s schedule. “The first recommendation to come was to take away the Spring Study Day and Cesar Chavez Day, or (to) take one of the existing staff holidays during the winter break,” Lieb said. Spring Study Day, a faculty holiday on the Friday of Spring Break also was eliminated.