Vigil on 19th anniversary of Cesar Chavez’s death two days
before U.S. high court hears arguments over SB 1070
GREENFIELD, CA—Farm workers will conduct a Monday night vigil beginning at 5:00 p.m. in Greenfield, CA (Monterey County) on the 19th anniversary of Cesar Chavez’s death two days before the U.S. Supreme Court hears arguments challenging the constitutionality of SB 1070. A similar protest is being held in Phoenix, Arizona. Chavez died on April 23, 1993, in San Luis, Arizona, not far from where he was born in the North Gila River Valley outside Yuma. On Wednesday, April 25, the nation’s high court takes up the constitutionality of Arizona’s anti-immigrant law that critics believe promotes racial profiling.
Cesar Chavez was short with dark Indian features, black hair, brown eyes and a soft Spanish accent. He dressed very much like the farm workers to whom he dedicated his life. “Would Cesar Chavez have been suspect under SB 1070 in the state of his birth?” asks Diana Tellefson Torres, Executive Director of the UFW Foundation. “You bet he would have.”
The vigil begins at 5 p.m. The United Farm Workers Foundation is the sponsor of the protest. The UFW Foundation is part of the farm worker movement that is celebrating its 50th anniversary in 2012.
Who: Farm workers and Latino activists and supporters.
What: Staging a vigil two days before a Supreme Court hearing on the challenge to SB 1070 on the 19th anniversary of Cesar Chavez’s passing and the 2nd anniversary of the signing of the bill into law.
When: Monday, April 23, 2012 at 5:00 p.m.
Where: 315 El Camino Real, Greenfield, CA 93927
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