Happy César Chávez Day
For those who don’t know, today is César Chávez Day. Chávez was a migrant worker from a young age and co-founded the National Farm Workers Association with the ever-awesome Dolores Huerta. (The NFWA would later merge with the Agricultural Workers Organizing Committee to form the United Farm Workers of America.) In addition to being a champion of labor rights, he was also an advocate for civil rights and immigration rights, and he was a proponent of non-violence.
César Chávez Day is celebrated primarily in California, but I still think it’s damn awesome that he even has a day in his honor. It’s not so often that Latinos are honored with their own holidays. Of course, I’m slightly bitter that Dolores Huerta doesn’t have her own day, but whatevs, I love her beyond belief so perhaps I’m a bit biased there.
At any rate, Chávez was hugely important to the labor movement. There’s a nice bio on him on UFW’s website that’s worth checking out. And because I’m a lover of quotations, here are my favorites:
Real education should consist of drawing the goodness and the best out of our own students. What better books can there be than the book of humanity?
You are never strong enough that you don’t need help.
How will you celebrate César Chávez today?