NewsTaco

By Ted Hesson, ABC/Univision

For a significant period of his storied career as a labor organizer, Cesar Chavez opposed illegal immigration.

He encouraged union members to join ”wet lines” along the Arizona-Mexico border to prevent undocumented immigrants from crossing into the U.S. He accused immigration agents at the border of letting in undocumented immigrants to undermine the labor efforts of Latino farmworkers.

Click on the picture to read the full story.

[Photo by Joel Levine]

By John Holland, The Modesto Bee

So, is the work of César Chávez, who would have turned 86 this Sunday, complete? No, it isn’t.

Farmwork- ers remain among the lowest-paid people in the work force. Statewide last year, the median hourly wage was $8.98 for those who handle crops and $10.91 for those who work with livestock, the California Employment Development Department reported.

By Ray Salazar, NewsTaco

Google is renowned for its doodles, the images embedded into the search engine’s logo on special occasions.  This Easter—March 31—Google is not recognizing the spiritual or secular holiday.  Instead, for the first time, Google recognizes Cesar Chavez, the farm worker, the union leader, the Chicano.

While this doodle may upset more people than John Lennon’s 1966 comment that the Beatles are “more popular than Jesus,” giving prominence to this often disregarded American is admirable.

In 2011, President Obama declared March 31 Cesar Chavez Day in recognition of the leader’s birthday.  Obama now needs to make this a national holiday.

Chavez was a leader in the Mexican American Civil Rights Movement of the 1960s.  Along with Dolores Huerta, he founded the United Farm Workers, a union dedicated to fighting for farm workers’ rights.  They fought for bathrooms, safe housing, decent pay, safe tools.  Later, they fought against pesticides.

To gain national attention to these efforts, Chavez and Huerta organized a grape boycott.  Then in 1966, they led a famous 340-mile march from Delano, California to Sacramento.  An image of Our Lady of Guadalupe led the march, reminding us that Chavez was a man of faith.

Chavez’s most recognized sacrifice is his 1968 fast in protest of unfair labor conditions.  When the fast ended, Robert Kennedy joined Chavez for a meal.

In 2003, the U.S. Post Office released a commemorative stamp celebrating the union leader.  I bought one that year, the year I finished graduate school, and keep it in a small frame near the place where I work, where I write.

It’s seems foolish that a search engine’s doodle should receive so much attention.  For Chicanos, however, this decision affirms what we’ve always believed—Cesar Chavez merits national recognition.

My father came to this country as a farmworker, a bracero, in 1957.  He heard Chavez speak once.  Suprisingly, it was my father’s work in the fields that opened the doors for me on National Public Radio over ten years ago.  An essay about my father’s work and my decision to become a writer aired onAll Things Considered in August 2002.

When I started my teaching career, my mother who worked in a warehouse, told me, “You always join the union.”  I did.  And while I’ve questioned many times the logic of my union–the Chicago Teachers Union–I still see the value, the power, the need for a organized labor—especially for teachers.  We just need to be better about communicating what we’re fighting for.

I hope that on this day of rest, those of us who belong to and lead labor unions can devote a moment to self-reflection and search within ourselves for an answer to this question: “What would Cesar Chavez say today about our labor efforts?”

Armando García

Todos los pueblos han tenido un lider  que ha luchado por que la justicia llegue a los más necesitados, a los parias, a los desamparados, a los que con su sudor y su trabajo edifican la riqueza de las sociedades en las que le tocó vivir.

Algunos de esos caudillos, pocos lograron su objetivo, otros fueron cegados al principio o a la mitad del camino y muchos con ahínco levantaron la bandera de su lucha y han seguido adelante.

El dramaturgo alemán Bertolt Brecht dijo que “Hay hombres que luchan un día y son buenos. Hay otros que luchan un año y son mejores. Hay quienes luchan muchos años y son muy buenos. Pero hay los que luchan toda la vida, esos son imprescindibles”.

Una de esas personas, los que lucharon toda su vida y su legado sigue vivo, gracias a quienes tomaron el liderazgo de su lucha y de otros que gracias a su ejemplo caminan por el sendero de la lucha social, está muy cerca de nosotros, del pueblo inmigrante, del campesino, del obrero, del estudiante, me refiero al extinto líder campesino César Chávez.

A 20 años de su muerte, la vida que llevó César Chávez sigue siendo escuchada en muchos rincones del país, y en otros ha querido ser borrada de los libros de la historia. Manifestaciones se realizan por todo el país honrando su nombre y levantando la bandera de lucha por conseguir una reforma migratoria.

César, es nuestro líder  en Estados Unidos, principalmente del campesinado. Consiguió lo que muchos fallaron por mucho tiempo, formar un sindicato, una unión, un movimiento que sentó el ejemplo del estilo de lucha necesario en este país para conseguir conquistas laborales, dignas de un ser humano.

Para los que tuvimos la fortuna de trabajar cercanamente con él, César nos mostró el camino sin violencia de la lucha por la justicia social. Algo difícil de concebir por muchos llamados revolucionarios que su meta es derrocar por la vía armada a los gobiernos, la oligarquía, la burguesía en el poder.

César logró que las grandes empresas agrícolas se doblegaran ante la presión del boicoteo a los productos agrícolas, un arma económica, infalible, que afectó directamente a la riqueza de los poderosos, los intocables, de los influyentes en todos los aspectos de nuestra sociedad.

César logró abrir los ojos a una sociedad que el alimento que uno se lleva todos los días a la boca, fue cosechado por alguien que no tiene suficiente para comer y menos para sostener a su familia. La sociedad estadounidense supo de la miseria, la desesperación, la angustia del campesinado a través del boicoteo, al ver como miles de campesinos llegaron a las grandes ciudades a pedirles a los consumidores que no compraran uvas o lechuga, porque estaban manchadas de explotación, marginación y humillación.

César dijo que el sufrimiento del campesino no tiene precio, pero logró que los agricultores cedieran en compensar ese sufrimiento al mejorar las condiciones de trabajo.

El movimiento campesino que él empezó, sembró la semilla de los logros actuales de los hispanos en todos los ámbitos de la sociedad estadounidense.

Sin sus enseñanzas y su ejemplo, hubiera sido casi imposible que la población inmigrante, los estadounidenses de origen hispano, tomaran conciencia del momento que les tocó vivir y supieran cuál camino tomar para ser reconocidos en una sociedad hostil y discriminatoria hacia la raza de bronce.

Cesar dijo en 1984 que muchos en puestos prominentes de una alguna manera u otra estaban conectados a la lucha campesina. Ya sea por no comer uvas o lechugas boicoteadas, o hubieran participado en una marcha o línea de protestas en tiendas o supermercados.

César ya no está físicamente con nosotros. La consigna de ¡Sí se Puede! que se escuchó desde los surcos del campo hasta las ciudades, ahora se escucha en todo el mundo y hasta el Presidente Obama la utilizó ampliamente en su primera campaña electoral. Y la sigue usando cuando se encuentra ante los hispanos de este país.

Su lucha no debe olvidarse, debe ser conocida en todos los rincones del país y además la lucha debe seguir, ya que campesino que César organizó, la mayoría ya no está con nosotros. Nuevas generaciones de mano de obra joven llega a los campos, a las fábricas, a las ciudades, provenientes de América Latina y de otras partes del mundo. Algunos recogerán las conquistas de César, otros son y serán explotados y humillados por sus patrones y discriminados por la sociedad que siempre lo ha mirado con malos ojos. Pero las enseñanzas de qué se debe hacer, y cómo se puede ganar, ya están escritas, simplemente hay que ponerlas a la práctica. Ya no hay que reinventar la rueda, simplemente hay que tomar el timón y seguir adelante sin dar marcha atrás.

Las luchas por la reforma migratoria, por reformas laborales, se pueden ganar sin violencia. Sigamos el ejemplo de César Chávez y de todos aquellos que siguen su legado.

 Armando García es un periodista independiente que trabajó con César Chávez  y el United Farm Workers Union por años, incluso como director del movimiento  de boicot .

[Photo de Armando García y César Chávez  cortesia de Armando García]

By Erika L. Sánchez, NBC Latino

The closest thing Latinos have to a national holiday is Cesar Chavez’s birthday on March 31st. Cesar Chavez’s birthday is already celebrated in ten states, and President Barack Obama not only has supported making it a national holiday, but recently named a national park on his behalf.

This week, children will be learning about the labor leader’s legacy in schools, and marches have been organized from California to Pennsylvania to honor the 86th anniversary of his birth and in support of immigration reform.

He has become the hero, the leader for Latinos pushing for immigration reform.

“He stood up and got people to believe in themselves,” says Paul Chavez, his son and president of the Cesar Chavez Foundation.

On March 23^rd and 24^th Chavez led marches  in Yakima, Washington and several California cities. Thousands of people– families affected by immigration reform, farm workers, and social activists– participated.

Chavez believes his father’s memory is thriving because of the ongoing immigration debate and country’s changing demographics. “People look for someone who they can relate to,” he says. He points out that his father, like many undocumented immigrants, came from humble beginnings and struggled throughout his life. But despite his hardships, he was able to lead and inspire.

Matthew Garcia, professor of history and author of “From the Jaws of History: The Triumph and Tragedy of Cesar Chavez and the Farm Worker Movement,” says that although Chavez was a far more complicated man than he was given credit for, Latinos have built up Cesar Chavez’s legacy because of their need for a hero. “We need our Martin Luther King, too,” he says.

For Marcos Muñoz, a former United Farm Workers organizer, Cesar Chavez was a very inspirational figure who transformed his life. After immigrating from Coahuila, Mexico when he was 13 years old, Muñoz became a migrant worker in California where he earned two to three dollars a day. In 1965 he was picking grapes when a group of people called him in to an office. There, they told him about the strike and explained how the union would benefit migrant workers. One of the people in the group was Cesar Chavez. From that day forward, Muñoz was involved in the movement and traveled all over the country to educate people about the boycott and working conditions of migrant workers.

“We didn’t have hope in our lives. We were scared,” he says. “But I found faith. It changed my life and my way of thinking.”

Like Chavez, Muñoz also believes that the renewed interest in Cesar Chavez’s life may also be due to  the current immigration debate. “Things have gotten better in many ways, but it’s not enough. We have to do what he wasn’t able to finish,” he says.

Though Chavez has become a symbol for immigration reform, many point out that Chavez wasnot in favor of expanding immigration and believed that undocumented immigrants could pose a threat to unionized workers. Chavez and the UFWs even reported some undocumented immigrants to the Immigration and Naturalization Service.

Regardless of the complicated history, Chavez is still mobilizing Latinos 20 years after his death, including many young undocumented people who are looking for a leader, representative or symbol they can relate to.

“Now in these difficult times, with Latinos being victimized, it’s especially important to remember that we’ve been here for many years,” Chavez says. “We come and work in the most difficult conditions that other folks refuse to do, and yet we still have tremendous optimism in this great land.”

This article was first published in NBCLatino.

Erika L. Sánchez is a poet and writer living in Chicago. She is currently the sex and love advice columnist for Cosmopolitan for Latinas and a contributor for NBCLatino, The Huffington Post and other publications. She is a recipient of a Fulbright Scholarship and the 2013 “Discovery”/Boston Review poetry prize. You can find her on Twitter, Facebook, or www.erikalsanchez.com

[Photo by Joel Levine]

Maria Lourdes Pallais, Reporte IndigoReporte Indigo

Ya pasaron dos semanas y el mundo aún no se recupera de la renuncia del Papa Benedicto XVI –algunos la condenan, otros la elogian, la mayoría no la entiende- pero lo que parece una incógnita interesante es si el mundo tendrá la suerte de ver a otros seguir su ejemplo.

En pláticas informales se habla de muchas dimisiones, algunas necesarias, otras urgentes, la mayoría bienvenidas. Algunas por vejez y salud, como la del Papa. Otras, las más, por motivos políticos y/o económicos. Uno que otro, por cretino.

Desde el pasado 11, un lunes que se volverá efeméride en el calendario de moros y cristianos, en los pasillos de las oficinas se escucha “ojalá fulano hiciera lo propio”, refiriéndose a la decisión papal. “Quien debería de renunciar es zutano”. “Que se quede el Papa y ya se vaya mengano”.

La lista de los candidatos no es corta. En primera fila está el presidente de Venezuela, Hugo Chávez, quien tiene dos meses en un hospital de La Habana recuperándose de un misterioso, pero a todas luces peligroso, cáncer que le provocó una grave insuficiencia respiratoria.

Pero el líder bolivariano morirá con las botas puestas. Después de la ausencia más prolongada desde que es presidente, lo vimos –ni más ni menos que el Día del Amor y la Amistad- feliz y rozagante de salud, con una sonrisa forzada, acostado en una cómoda cama rodeado por sus dos hijas, de mucho mejor aspecto que antes de su última operación. Son fotos sin duda retocadas pero evidencian que Chávez no ha muerto, y su gobierno se quiere jactar de que el comandante es un titán duro de roer. Y por supuesto, que no piensa dimitir.

Otro candidato longevo es Fidel Castro, de 86 años. Pero claro, el líder cubano oficialmente se retiró en 2008, cediendo el paso a su hermano Raúl, tras confesar que sufría de un mal intestinal del que fue operado en varias ocasiones.

No es ningún secreto que en Cuba no pasa nada sin que lo sepa, y autorice, Fidel. Que el Estado es él, y su hermano también, muchos aseguran que incluso en ese orden. Cierto, como lo prometió cuando dejó la presidencia, la isla ha vivido reformas importantes.

Pero que él sigue al pie del cañón en la medida de las limitaciones de su avanzada edad, a nadie le cabe duda. Como los Papas antes de Benedicto.

En América Latina hay por lo menos otro jefe de Estado que debería darle vuelta a la página. Es Daniel Ortega, en Nicaragua, quien ejerce el poder con la misma mano de hierro que lo hiciera el dictador que un día ayudó a derrocar.

Como Somoza en su momento, Ortega ha logrado un control casi absoluto, consolidando un modelo autocrático en un país donde los muertos no solo votan sino que a veces hasta son electos.

El otrora revolucionario sandinista, vuelto predicador, se siente llamado por Dios para ser líder de su pueblo hasta que el Creador le diga lo contrario. También un poco como el Papa. Pero, los que lo conocen aseguran que no seguirá el ejemplo de Benedicto. Y bueno, tampoco ha cumplido 70 años.

Del otro lado del Atlántico, hay un líder que forma parte de esta lista. Es el presidente del gobierno español, Mariano Rajoy. Aunque no dimitirá, debería considerarlo por crear una crisis donde miles de españoles podrían morir de inanición.

Hay muchos más, pero cierro con uno de los pesos pesados de Japón, el ministro de Finanzas Taro Aso, quien, a sus 72 años, dijo sobre los ancianos: “Que se den prisa y se mueran” para aliviar la carga fiscal de los japoneses por su atención médica.

Taro Aso debería dimitir, por cretino.

Maria Lourdes Pallais es jefa de redacción de Reporte Indigo, donde esta columna fue publicada

Por Maria Lourdes Pallais, Reporte Indigo

Es mediodía del 9 de octubre de 1967. El sargento Mario Terán le da el tiro de gracia a Ernesto “El Ché” Guevara, tras haberlo atrapado el día anterior en la Quebrada del Yuro, en Bolivia. Con esa muerte nace un célebre mito revolucionario en América Latina, el del muerto “que nunca muere”.

By Ivan Delgado, Aurora Saldivar, Johnny Flores, New America Media

KEENE, Calif. — On October 8, 2012, over 6,000 people descended upon Villa La Paz — the home, operational headquarters and final resting place of civil rights and labor leader César Chávez — for President Barack Obama’s dedication of the César Chávez National Monument. They came from throughout the country to see this 187-acre property in the foothills of the Tehachapi Mountains take its place among national monuments such as the Statue of Liberty and the Grand Canyon.

Although the dedication was celebratory in tone, many in attendance acknowledged that the dreams Chávez had for farm workers — such as fair wages, safe working conditions, job protection, dignity and respect — have not been entirely fulfilled.

Estimates put the number of seasonal and migrant farm workers in the United States at more than 3 million, and while farm workers form the backbone of a national agriculture industry that isprojected to generate more than $222 billion in crop sales in 2012 alone, many of those who toil in the fields — more than four decades after the formation of the UFW — continue to live an impoverished life in the shadows of society, collecting low hourly wages and sometimes paid by the piece, or amount, of produce they can harvest.

As recently as 2009, 23 percent of farm worker families were found to have a total household income below the national poverty guidline.

Sub-standard housing continues to be a chronic issue for farm workers, in particular migrant workers who travel to keep up with regional crop harvests.  In a 2007 survey conducted among migrant workers based in the Coachella Valley, 30 percent of workers surveyed reported living in housing “not meant for human habitation” — camping outdoors, living out of their automobiles or converted, overcrowded garage spaces.

Despite the obvious challenges that remain, the unveiling of the the Chávez National Monument in Keene and the emotional response of those who bore witness to it, were a reminder that the hopeful spirit embodied in the UFW rallying cry, sí se puede (yes, it can be done), remains present in the hearts and minds of many Californians.

This article was first published in New America Media.

The slideshow was produced by youth reporters from Coachella Unincorporated, a community and youth-led news outlet founded by New America Media to serve residents of the Eastern Coachella Valley, the fifth largest agriculture producing region in the nation and home to many farm worker families.  Coachella Unincorporated is supported by a grant from The California Endowment.

[Photos By Bob Jagendorf, richmooremi]

By Victor Landa,  NewsTaco

From Affirmative Action, to the Cesar Chavez Monument and the surprising inductees to the all-time Latino professional baseball team – we chatted with Latino USA about the slightly “off the radar” news this week. Click, catch up, tell us what you think.

CLICK HERE

By Lalo Alcaraz, Pocho Ñews Service

Pres. Barack Obama and I met up yesterday in Keene, a pueblito of a town in Kern County, CA. Obama was there to dedicate a monument to César Chávez and I was there to witness. See — that’s me with the President in the background!

After a groggy three-hour drive started at the crack of dawn, I stood in what seemed like a mile-long line along with several thousands of other UFW supporters and Obama backers in the dusty, windy Tehachapi morning.

We came to witness the President’s dedication of the 398th Federal National Monument, known as La Paz, and now the Cesar Chavez National Monument in Keene, built on the site of an old tuberculosis hospital in the Tehachapi Mountains. UFW co-founder and labor icon Chavez is buried on the grounds of his longtime HQ. It is idyllic, and a little dusty.

Dancers danced. Mariachis played. Labor Secretary Hilda Solis spoke, also Interior Secretary Ken Salazar and Paul Chavez, son of Cesar. I took my family to make sure our three kids got to witness history and see the first African-American president in the flesh. Also historical!

We scarfed free pan dulce and drank water while we waited for the main event. We were standing in the heat on a slight dirt hill about 150 yards from the podium.  Fortunately for us we were snatched up by a UFW organizer who recognized me and we were ushered to the very front, and my kids were placed on the edge of the speaking area. “Sometimes he comes by and shakes hands, this is a good spot.” said our host.

Kris Kristofferson asked for a photo with me so he could to prove to his grandkids we met.

I joked with the Park Rangers there that I would put my adorable kids up as “bait” so the President would surely come by and shake their hands first, and then we’d swoop in.

After several speeches, and endless playing of taped Souza marches, Hail To The Chief finally played on the Presidential iPod, and the President came out to wild crowd approval. He gave a speech praising  Chavez and the countless farm workers and organizers who made workers’ rights their life’s work. He also stumbled on the word used to describe a young Cesar Chavez, “caprichudo” (spoiled and stubborn). I think he said “caprichorro” or something hilarious like that. It didn’t matter, we giggled and kept listening.

This is the actual monument. OK. It’s a photo of a sign. The MONUMENT’s sign

I videotaped parts of his speech, and took photos. I  videotaped so much my iPhone froze up and choked at the moment Obama came off the stage towards us. He headed right for my eight- year-old girl. The trap had worked. There he was, right in front of us! He spoke to my daughter and I would have loved to have told him numerous things, like:

• ‘Sup, Barack?
• Will you ease up on the deportations already?
• Can  I send you a copy of my Viva Obama poster I did in 2008?
• Please boast about your accomplishments in a more boastful manner
• Can you get drone pilots with better aim? Afghan and Pakistani kids are just as adorable as mine.
• I’d like to get drunk with Joe Biden
• I won’t judge if you take an oxygen tank to the next debate  and
• Thanks for killing Bin Laden, I didn’t like that guy

The moment ended in an instant, but not before we all got to greet the first African-American president personally. I don’t have a photo of the moment we all got to shake hands and meet the President, but I won’t ever forget it. We also got a ticket for the event autographed by the President.

Exhausted after a long day of waiting in lines and fighting off the sun (my cranium has so much acreage it is susceptible to sunstroke) we drove home after stopping at the Mojave Denny’s and having a belated breakfast. In the booth next to us we met Frank Fabela, proud Korean War vet and brother of Helen Chavez, Cesar Chavez’s widow. The history just wouldn’t quit.

And finally at home, we assigned homework to our kids: write about meeting the President, so that you don’t forget, and also to have proof of the authenticity of the autographed ticket.

My reluctant son was told, “You never know, your no-good moocher grandkids may need to sell this on Pawn Stars 2150, and show proof that they have an autograph from our only African-American President…”

It was a pretty good day in history.

Presidential Medal of Freedom winner Dolores Huerta (with medal) and Secretary of Labor Hilda Solis.

This is the money shot.

See ya later!

This article was first published in Pocho.com.

Lalo Alcaraz is probably the most prolific Chicano artist in the nation, according to this bio. This award-winning joker has spent two decades chronicling the political ascendancy of Latinos in America and pushing the boundaries of Chicano art. He is the creator of the first nationally-syndicated, politically-themed Latino daily comic strip, “La Cucaracha,” he co-founded the political comedy troupe Chicano Secret Service and he co-hosts the infamous “Pocho Hour of Power” on KPFK in Los Angeles (90.7 FM).

[Photos by Lalo Alcaraz]

By Jose Cruz, Our Tiempo

President Obama officially dedicated the Cesar E. Chavez National Monument yesterday  in the Central Valley where the farmworker labor movement took place.

This article was first published in Our Tiempo.

Jose Cruz is a Puerto Rican/Irish multi-city/multi-hat guru at OurTiempo.com. An online entrepreneur, Jose is the in house editor and writer. With a background in politics anda career that includes a law degree, the Clinton White House and managing anddeveloping websites geared at the Latino community, his tastes are as diverse as his work. Just at home diving into a Chicago Deep Dish Pizza to munching on a Fish Taco in East LA. Twitter: @JoseCruz2000

[Photo by CCF]

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/

# # # # #

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

[Photo by  US Department of Labor]

By Raisa Camargo, Voxxi

President Barack Obama is paying homage to the farm worker movement by establishing the Cesar E. Chavez National Monument on behalf of its civil rights leader, Cesar Chavez.

Chavez’s grave site and California home called Nuestra Senora Reina de La Paz (Our Lady Queen of Peace) has been designated as the national Cesar Chavez monument. The property served as Chavez’s national headquarters and home since the 1970s until his death in 1993.

Rurally located in the Tehachapi Mountains of Kern County, California, the property serves as a historical reminder of the struggles Chavez endured side-by-side Dolores Huerta when they co-founded the United Farmworkers of America.

“Cesar Chavez gave a voice to poor and disenfranchised workers everywhere,” said President Obama in a statement. “La Paz was at the center of some of the most significant civil rights moments in our nation’s history, and by designating it a national monument, Chavez’s legacy will be preserved and shared to inspire generations to come.”

Obama is expected to be in Keene, California next week and on Oct 8., he will make the tribute official. He is also arriving a few days before Hispanic Heritage month officially culminates on Oct. 15.

From achieving basic worker protections for hundreds of thousands of farmworkers across the country to provisions ensuring drinking water was provided to workers in the fields, Chavez played an instrumental role. He also helped limit workers’ exposure to dangerous pesticides and established basic minimum wages and health care access for farm workers.

Chavez preached non-violence and civil disobedience. Through his tactics growers were forced to recognize the UFW as the bargaining agent for 50,000 field workers in California and Florida. Chavez’s legacy continues to this day muttered through the words of a famous slogan: Si se Puede.

Cesar Chavez monument a tribute to the activist

The presidential campaign has also enjoyed wide support with the help of grassroots movements such as the UFW and icons like Huerta to promote get-out-the vote initiatives in the Latino community. With days shy before the election, the move can only add to Obama’s favorability ratings.

Under the Antiquities Act, which was passed in 1906 by Congress, the president is allowed to use executive order to restrict the use of public land to be owned by the federal government. The location will also serve as a visitor’s center containing Cesar Chavez’s office as well as the UFW legal aid offices, the home of Cesar and Helen Chavez, the Chavez Memorial Garden containing Chavez’s grave site, and additional buildings and structures at the La Paz campus.

The Cesar Chavez monument was years in the making, according to a White House press release.

This article was first published in Voxxi.

Raisa Camargo is a staff writer at Voxxi.

[Photo by Pete Souza/White House]

By Reyna Jacqueline Peña

Do you have plans this weekend?  Well, whatever you do, plan on setting some time aside to honor the memory and legacy of labor leader and civil rights activist César Chávez on March 31, his birthday.  Chávez’s birthday is currently celebrated in many places throughout the country, and it’s a state holiday in some places, such as California. Recently, President Obama officially proclaimed March 31st César Chávez Day marking it a national holiday–leaving some individuals wondering whether this symbolic gesture has more to do with election campaigning rather than observance.

The man and his legacy. César Estrada Chávez was born near Yuma, Arizona on March 31, 1927. Born into a Mexican-American farm worker family, he spent his early youth working on farms with his family in Arizona, later moving to California, where he continued working the land. While he did not obtain a formal education past grammar school, he was a self-taught man. He learned economics, politics, methods of organizing, philosophy and history through self-study. It’s said that he believed all education should culminate in the service to others. And service to others was what his life embodied most.

As a farm worker from humble beginnings, he was exposed to injustice firsthand. Early experiences witnessing landowners exploit workers lead him to champion the cause of worker rights. After a two-year stint in a segregated U.S. Navy and after starting family, he became involved in community service and then civil and labor rights–where his legacy lies. He founded the National Farm Workers Association, which later became known as the UFW (United Farm Workers) labor union.

The UFW was successful in organizing several strikes, most notably, the Salad Bowl Strike–which lead the passage of legislation protecting the rights of migrant farm workers to unionize. Chávez’s methods of organizing and advancing the cause often included hunger strikes, and these nonviolent methods helped draw support to the UFW agenda. (Suggestion: Try a fast this weekend to commemorate Chávez.) However, some of the UFW’s tactics, like reporting undocumented scabs to INS and preventing undocumented individuals from entering the U.S., were criticized as being anti-immigrant, an allegation considered unfair and incorrect by official UFW accounts. Chávez died in his sleep at the age of 66 in 1993.

Pushing for national recognition.  Arguably the most influential Mexican-American civil rights leader, and perhaps the most well known, Chávez is considered nothing short of a hero by some and a model citizen by many more. In 1994, President Bill Clinton posthumously awarded Chávez with a Medal of Freedom, declaring Chávez a “Moses figure to his people.” César Chávez birthday (March 31st) has been celebrated as César Chávez Day in many areas of the southwest of the United States since the early aughts. It is a state holiday in California, and there are numerous events honoring Chávez in different cities.

Around 2008, a campaign was organized to make Chavez’s birthday a national holiday. Celebrities like Carlos Santana and Martin Sheen added their weight to a list of organizations lobbying to make March 31st a national holiday honoring Chávez. In April of 2008, then Senator Obama added his name to the list of people in favor of observing a national holiday for Chávez. Senator Obama would later make good on his promise.

Presidential Proclamation: Observance or Pandering?  A copy of President Obama’s 2012 presidential proclamation marking Chávez’s birthday as a national holiday has been circulating in Latino blogs and online forums.  A few cynics among us have gone as far as to question the timing of this proclamation, suggesting the White House’s symbolic gesture to honor Chávez is really geared at wooing the Latino vote.  However, before we accuse the White House of playing politics with our cherished icons during an election year, we should know that President Obama released presidential proclamations honoring Chávez in 2010 and 2011, as well–just as he said he would before gaining office.

It would appear that this is one promise to Latinos that President Obama did not let fall to the wayside.  Now, let’s not let the memory and legacy of Chávez fall to the wayside.

[Image By USGov-DOL]