March 30, 2007

Cesar Estrada Chavez presente!

Posted by Tomas Palermo at 2:10AM

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Cesar Estrada Chavez presente!

March 31st 2007 would have been labor leader Cesar Chavez's 80th birthday. The legacy of this Mexican-American civil rights icon, who passed in 1993, lives on in many real and visible ways. And that is exactly how Chavez lived his live and fought his battles - in public, in the fields, on the streets and at our dinner tables.

I can vividly remember the second grape boycott in 1984 when Chavez stood up to the horrors of pesticide exposure for field workers and consumers alike. In 1988 he fasted for 36 days to protest the chemical poisoning happening in Central California's farmlands, below the radar of most American's watch. I was in high school, and participated in actions outside of grocery stores, and with others, proudly wore my "No Uvas" (No Grapes) pin. Chavez's humanist movement reached out to my suburban community and welcomed us into the struggle.

Chavez's activism - co-founding the National Farm Workers Association (now the United Farm Workers) union, and spearheading immigration rights in the early 1970s - paralleled that of his peers Martin Luther King, Jr. and Mahatma Gandhi. Like all true peace campaigners, his movement was inclusive, and its strategies adaptable, so that a coalition of young, old and multi-racial folks could gather under one tent and help forge change.

This vision and blueprint is what Chavez has given to us, it's both a gift and responsibility. The gifts are days of remembrance like March 31, when most public schools and libraries in California and other western states are closed. The responsibility is Chzvez's call to make simple, daily changes to build an equal society for all.

In San Francisco, a boulevard formerly named for the Army now bears Chavez's namesake. Along it, day laborers from Mexico, Central America and Ireland line the traffic-clogged corridor and strive to earn a fair living. These workers are a testament to the work we still have to accomplish, the economic justice that needs to be achieved for those living in the margins, out of sight but very much a part of our lives. The day laborers are us, and we'll join their struggle, along with today's farm workers, so, that like Chzvez, we are visible, active and implementing change.