Cesar Chavez’s Widow Calls on The New York Times to Stop Using Racial Stereotype

PRESS RELEASE

36,000 Sign Petition on SignOn.org Calling on the New York Times to Lead a More Inclusive, Tolerant Discussion of Immigration in America

** http://signon.org/sign/it-is-never-too-late **

KEENE, CALIFORNIA – As President Obama heads to Keene, California today to announce the establishment of the Cesar E. Chavez National Monument, a new petition on SignOn.org by Cesar Chavez’s widow, Helen Chavez, calls on The New York Times to cease referring to immigrants as “illegals” and instead use the term “undocumented” in order to create a more civilized and tolerant discussion about immigrants and immigration in America.

Helen F. Chavez, widow of farm labor and civil rights icon Cesar Chavez, signed the petition, which is also endorsed by her family, including her middle son, Paul Chavez, president of the Cesar Chavez Foundation. The Chavez foundation, based where they both live in Keene, is the non-profit, tax-exempt arm of the farm worker movement. It builds affordable housing, operates a four-state network of educational Spanish-language radio stations and runs the National Chavez Center where Chavez is buried.  More than 36,000 people have joined Helen’s call for the New York Times to take the lead in a more inclusive and tolerant discussion of undocumented immigration in America.

Remembering her years working in the fields, “we were called ‘wetbacks’ ‘dirty Mexicans’—and worse,” Helen Chavez wrote in the petition. “It is no longer acceptable to call people names or use stereotypes because of skin color or who people are. Why should we tolerate farm workers and other Latinos being treated this way? Some day not long from now people will look back and ask, ‘How could people call other people names like illegal?’ Is it never too late to stand on the right side of history?”

SIGN THE PETITION HERE: http://signon.org/sign/it-is-never-too-late

“My father and his movement gave hope and pride to farm workers plus millions of Latinos and people from all walks of life,” said Paul Chavez.  “As one of the leading news sources in America, the New York Times has the power to help change the way we talk about immigration in this country. That is why my mother is appealing to the Times to lead the way to a more fair and productive discussion about this important issue.”

NEW YORK TIMES PUBLIC EDITOR MARGARET SULLIVAN RESPONDS: http://publiceditor.blogs.nytimes.com/2012/10/02/readers-wont-benefit-if-times-bans-the-term-illegal-immigrant/

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SignOn.org is the non-profit, online campaign platform from MoveOn.org that lets