Protests organized to save name of Mexican American Studies course

Protests are being held across Texas on Wednesday to keep the name “Mexican American Studies” for a high school course.

One of the protests is being held in El Paso.

The rally is being organized by the National Association for Chicana and Chicano Studies. The NACCS announced the statewide action after a vote by the Texas State Board of Education to change the name to “Ethnic Studies: An Overview of Americans of Mexican Descent.”

The course will be added to school curriculum statewide as an elective.

Democrats were against the name change, but had to support it in order to have the course added as an elective.

Conservative lawmakers said the new name is less divisive than its current name.

El Paso was chosen as one of six cities where the NACCS Tejas will hold simultaneous news conferences.

The NACCS is expected to announce its opposition to the name change and outline why the Board of Education should reverse its decision and keep the original name.

The rally is scheduled to take place at the Lincoln Center at 4001 Durazno Street at 12:30 p.m.