Lafayette starts 6-week Cesar Chavez celebration
Lafayette’s sixth annual Cesar Chavez Celebration
By Amy Bounds
Chavez was a Mexican-American farm worker who fought for the rights of migrant farm workers. He co-founded the labor organization that became known as the United Farm Workers union. Following are some of the events scheduled in coming weeks:
Seeds of Justice March: 4 p.m. April 3; starting at Pioneer Elementary School, 101 E. Baseline Road, Lafayette.
“Viva La Causa”: 1 p.m. April 4; Boulder Public Library Canyon Theater, 1000 Canyon Blvd., Boulder.
Outdoor community mural painting: 6 p.m. April 10; Cannon Mine Coffee, 210 S. Public Road, Lafayette.
Boulder County teen dance: 7 p.m. April 17; YMCA, 2800 Dagny Way, Lafayette.
Project Yes SeLebration Global Youth Service Day: 9 a.m. April 25; Angevine Middle School, 1150 W South Boulder Road, Lafayette.
For more information, visit www.inclusivelafayette.com
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LAFAYETTE, Colo. — Leaders from nonprofit groups, schools and businesses have come together to organize a six-week celebration in honor of Cesar Chavez’s fight for social justice.
Poetry readings, a community mural project, Boulder Pride “talking circles” and a youth service day are just a few of the events scheduled in the coming weeks as part of the sixth-annual celebration.
“It’s truly grassroots,” said Elaina Verveer, one of the organizers. “It really is aimed to build community among east Boulder County’s diverse populations.”
She’s working on a Chavez birthday celebration at Pioneer Elementary organized by the Lafayette Youth Advisory Committee and a Latino teen dance put together by Centaurus High School students.
Project Yes, a local youth program, also is organizing the Seeds of Justice March on April 3 — what would have been Chavez’s 82nd birthday.
“This celebration is an opportunity to really engage young people,” Verveer said. “It’s nice for Latino youth to learn that there is an individual who should be emulated for his work around non-violence and justice.”
New this year is a 40-day community fast, organized by Lafayette Cesar Chavez Celebration chairman Daniel Escalante and the Latino Boys Leadership Group at Angevine Middle School.
Escalante said Chavez was known for fasting to bring attention to the plight of farmworkers and re-commit himself to non-violence. At the end of a 36-day fast by Chavez, others began fasting in solidarity — giving Escalante the idea for a community fast.
Like Chavez, he said, participants can use fasting to connect with those around the world going hungry.
“We are all related and some of us are more fortunate than others,” he said. “Sometimes, we all forget that.”
He hoped to recruit 20 people to commit to fasting two days each, taking the fast through the 40 day celebration. So far, he said, about 60 people are participating, with more signing on each day.
Fasters are asked to commit to whatever is most important to them, from the environment to racism to health care. Escalante, after hearing from several people who wanted to fast but couldn’t because of health issues, focused on helping people heal.
While most communities celebrate Chavez’s birthday with a single event, such as a rally, Lafayette is unique in organizing six weeks of diverse events.
“We didn’t want to make it a one day event,” Escalante said. “We wanted people to think about Cesar Chavez, what he stood for and what we’re still facing, for longer than just one day.”