L.A. County Celebrates Cesar Chavez’s Legacy

Tuesday was a state holiday honoring the labor leader’s efforts for worker rights

By EGP News Service

The Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors on Tuesday proclaimed this week as the eighth annual “Cesar E. Chavez Community Service Week” in honor of the late labor leader’s birthday.

Several events involving county employees—including a two-week food drive conducted in partnership with the Los Angeles Regional Food Bank—were planned under this year’s theme, “helping and serving others.”

Last year’s food drive brought in 23,000 pounds of food and supplies, according to a statement from Supervisor Gloria Molina.

“During these challenging economic times, our families and communities are leaning on the county family now more than ever,” Molina said. “And we are pleased to continue our annual tradition of volunteering instead of taking a paid holiday.”

Yesterday, Molina and her staff cooked a meal and fed 200 families at the Salvation Army’s Bell Shelter.

Groups, including many local schools, participated in a variety of service projects, everything from campus clean ups to street beautification and mural painting projects to commemorate the legendary labor and civil rights leader.

On, March 27, students at Cesar Chavez Elementary in Bell Gardens participated in a walk-a-thon to raise money for the local public library. County staff, students and seniors participated in a clean up project at Salazar Park in East Los Angeles.

On Saturday, the 11th Annual Cesar E. Chavez Day Walk and Festival sponsored by the UFW Foundation will take place at Historic Olvera Street.

Last week, the Los Angeles Unified School District Board of Education voted to make the state Cesar Chavez Day holiday a school holiday as well. Superintendent Ramon Cortines is to report back within 90 days with a plan to drop a different holiday in favor of one to celebrate Chavez, and to establish service-learning projects “in the spirit” of Chavez by the 2010-2011 school year.

The Coalition to Defend Affirmative Action, Integration and Immigrant Rights and Fight for Equality By Any Means Necessary—which calls itself BAMN—lead protest marches demanding the holiday be observed by LAUSD.

“This is a victory for the new civil rights movement,” said Los Angeles BAMN organizer Hoku Jeffrey.” Two years of petitioning, walking out and marching have taken the new civil rights movement an important step forward.”

Then-Gov. Gray Davis signed legislation in 2000 to create the state holiday, and some schools use the day to teach students about the union organizer, who would have been 82- years old. He died in 1993.

Chavez was an American farm worker of Mexican descent who became a labor leader and civil rights activist and who, with Dolores Huerta, co-founded the National Farm Workers Association, which later became the United Farm Workers.

He is credited with improving work and quality-of-life conditions for immigrant farm workers, famously organizing a grape boycott in the 1960s to seek higher wages.

He is also credited with bringing urban communities into the battle for farm workers’ rights, and for the rights of all workers.