Roswell moves to name recreation center after Cesar Chavez

ROSWELL, N.M. (AP) - Roswell’s Parks and Recreation Commission has recommended that a new recreation center be named after the late California farmworker union leader Cesar Chavez, a move that may help a yearlong debate about honoring the civil rights icon.

The Roswell Daily Record reports (https://bit.ly/1RJUwoc ) that the recommendation, adopted Monday, will proceed to City Council committees for consideration.

The proposal to name the center after Chavez was broached last year after a proposal to rename a street after him failed to gain traction without the support of the Chaves County commission. Proponents of the name change accused those who didn’t want a Chavez street of having racial bias.

League of United Latin American Citizens’ spokesman Richard Garcia says naming the recreation center after Chavez is a means of reaching a compromise on the street renaming issue.

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Information from: Roswell Daily Record, https://www.roswell-record.com