FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE CONTACT: Michele Heller
March 29, 1999 (202) 225-3072
Lofgren Backs Movement to Designate March 31st
a Federal Holiday in Honor of Cesar Chavez
WASHINGTON, D.C. ‹ San Jose’s Representative Zoe Lofgren is working in Congress to memorialize civil rights fighter Cesar Chavez by designating his March 31st birthday a federal holiday.
"Cesar Chavez was a champion of working people everywhere. It is time for the nation to honor his legacy. Making March 31st a federal holiday is an appropriate tribute to this remarkable man who brought dignity and honor to the lives of so many others," said Logren, who lives near the East San Jose neighborhood where Chavez got his start as a community organizer in the early 1950s.
"Cesar Chavez led his first voter registration drive in the Sal Si Puedes barrio to give migrant farmworkers a voice, and eventually real political power and justice," Lofgren said. "Chavez inspired and empowered thousands in East San Jose, and they helped inspire him to become one of the country’s greatest advocates for the working person and non-violent change. He truly is one of the most inspiring Americans of the 20th century."
As Enrique Dominguez, a longtime Chicano activist in San Jose, said at the time of Chavez’s death in 1993, "He is our Martin Luther King. He showed us the way. He always seemed to awaken our spirits. He told us not to give up hope."
Chavez, who moved from Arizona to San Jose in 1951, organized chapters of the Community Services Organization throughout California and eventually the United Farm Workers union. As a result, migrant workers won rights that most workers take for granted: clean drinking water and sanitary facilities on the job. He also made the world aware of the exposure to dangerous pesticides that farm laborers ‹ and consumers ‹ face daily.
Chavez¹s influence extends far beyond agriculture. He created a social movement in urban areas, organized voter registration drives, brought complaints against mistreatment by police and welfare officials, and empowered many to seek advancement in education and politics.
Lofgren joins 53 of her Congressional colleagues in supporting H.J.Res. 22, a joint resolution to designate March 31st, the birthday of Cesar Chavez, a federal holiday.
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