Chavez Family and United States Postal Service Joined by National Leaders For Unveiling of the Cesar E. Chavez Commemorative Stamp
Senator Edward M. Kennedy, Senator John McCain, House Democratic Leader Richard Gephardt, Chavez Family Members, AFL-CIO President John Sweeney, Coretta Scott King, Actor Robert Redford, United States Postal Service Representatives and others honor legacy of Cesar E. Chavez
Washington, DC (September 18, 2002)-–Today at the U.S. Capitol’s Senate Swamp (corner of Constitution and Delaware) at 2:15 p.m. (Eastern Time) the Cesar E. Chavez Foundation and the United States Postal Service (USPS) will honor civil rights and farm labor leader Cesar E. Chavez, best known as the founder of the United Farm Workers of America, AFL-CIO, by unveiling the Cesar E. Chavez commemorative Stamp. Chavez family members, the Cesar E. Chavez Foundation, and the USPS will be joined by national leaders and others for brief remarks and an unveiling of the stamp in recognition of Chavez’s tireless work for justice and equality for all people through service to others.
The Cesar E. Chavez Commemorative Stamp will be issued in April 2003 on the 10th anniversary of Cesar’s passing, to honor his life’s work and legacy, which continues to inspire others. In addition, the stamp will be incorporated into programming and events around Cesar Chavez Day 2003, which is an official state holiday in California, Arizona, Colorado, New Mexico, and Texas, as well as in dozens of cities and counties throughout the nation. The inaugural unveiling and subsequent issuance of the stamp is a tribute to Cesar’s significance in American history, and to his legacy’s potential in America’s future.
“My father’s teachings of compassion, justice and dignity still ring true almost a decade after his passing,” said Paul Chavez, Chairman of the Cesar E. Chavez Foundation. “The Cesar E. Chavez commemorative stamp is a powerful vehicle to introduce future generations of Americans to his vital legacy, teaching them that through determination and hard work they can improve their own lives and communities.”
Cesar’s work transcended any one movement or cause. He inspired millions of Americans to seek social justice and civil rights for the poor and disenfranchised. He advocated for nonviolent social reform. He was an environmentalist and labor leader. Ultimately, he forged an extraordinary and diverse national coalition of students, middle-class consumers, trade unionists, religious groups, and women and minorities.
Cesar was born on March 31, 1927, near his family’s farm in Yuma, Arizona. He spent his youth working with his family in agricultural fields throughout the Southwest. Cesar joined the U.S. Navy in 1946, and served in the Western Pacific in the aftermath of World War II. In 1952, he became a community organizer for the most prominent Latino civil rights organization of that time, the Community Service Organization, before founding the United Farm Workers of America. He passed away in his sleep on April 23, 1993, a few miles from the farm where he was born.
"I’m honored to be part of the stamp unveiling," said Senator Edward M. Kennedy. "Cesar Chavez is a true American hero. His untiring leadership and his commitment to non-violence gave hope to thousands of oppressed farm workers, and his legacy continues to inspire millions of Americans to challenge injustice and achieve peaceful change."
The Cesar E. Chavez Foundation is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit 501(c)(3) charitable organization 501(c)(3) established by Cesar’s family and friends in 1993, whose mission is to preserve, promote and apply the legacy and values of civil rights and farm labor leader Cesar E. Chavez through contemporary programming and scholarships that promote community involvement, non-violence, education, environmental stewardship, justice and equality for all Americans. The Foundation’s programming utilizes Cesar’s vital legacy to teach individuals that they have inherent and unlimited potential to make a difference in their own lives, in their communities, and in the world as a whole.
www.chavezfoundation.org
Event Participants
Senator Edward M. Kennedy (D-MA)
Senator John McCain (R-AZ)
Ben Ocasio, United Stated Postal Service Representative
Paul F. Chavez, Cesar’s son and Cesar E. Chavez Foundation, Chairman of the Board
Arturo S. Rodriguez, UFW, President
John J. Sweeney, AFL-CIO, President
Henry Cisneros, American City Vista, Chief Executive Officer
Andres F. Irlando, Cesar E. Chavez Foundation, Executive Director
Raul Yzaguirre, National Council of La Raza, President
Dolores Huerta, United Farm Workers, Co-founder
Members of the California Delegation
Members of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus
Cesar E. Chavez Honored by Words of Reflection
“Cesar and Bobby, two heroic hearts forged in the crucible of the struggle for equality and justice for all, reflect the poet’s words, ‘Born of the sun they traveled a short while towards the sun, and left the vivid air signed with their honor.’”
-Ethel Kennedy, Widow of Robert F. Kennedy
“I had the great privilege of knowing Cesar and working with him on some of his projects, and I was proud to march by his side in a number of the campaigns he led. Cesar was a courageous, selfless and dedicated leader of oppressed and exploited people, very much in the nonviolent spirit of Martin Luther King, Jr. Honoring Cesar with a stamp will not only provide a source of pride for Hispanic people, but it will also lift up an inspiring example for Americans of all races, a leader who personified human dignity, humility and commitment to social decency for all people.”
-Coretta Scott King
"Cesar Chavez was a humble man of deep conviction who understood what it meant to serve and sacrifice for others. He was a true American hero that embodied the values of justice and freedom this nation holds dear. I reserve a different kind of admiration for individuals like Cesar Chavez. Honoring him with a U.S. postage stamp will enable his legacy to inspire and serve as an example for our youth."
-Senator John McCain
"I am honored to be selected as a member of the National Honorary Committee for the Cesar E. Chavez Commemorative Postage Stamp. Cesar Chavez dedicated his life to the values of opportunity, liberty and economic justice that make our nation great. He spearheaded a civil rights movement, inspired a generation of Hispanic leaders and embodied the ideals enshrined in the U.S. Constitution. His appearance on a United States stamp is a wonderful way to honor his life and legacy, reminding a new generation of Americans of his enormous contributions to the fabric of our nation’s life."
-The Honorable Richard Gephardt, House Democratic Leader
"The inspiration of the life lived by Cesar Chavez is something to be treasured for all time. His tireless work for human justice and equality continues to make a real difference every day, even a decade after his passing. The issuance of a stamp in honor of this incredible life lived provides an important opportunity to not only remind people of it, but to introduce his life and his values to those who may not be aware."
-Robert Redford, Actor
"For America’s working families, Cesar Chavez signifies enormous hope in the face of daily struggle. A stamp in his honor challenges us to remember that his life’s mission is not over until every worker has a living wage, adequate health care, and dignity on the job. "
-John Sweeney, AFL-CIO President
"Like most, I not only admired Cesar Chavez; I was inspired by him and the example he set of nonviolent struggle and perseverance."
-Julian Bond, NAACP Chairman
"The contribution of one can determine the future of all, such is the legacy of Cesar E. Chavez."
– Edward James Olmos
"Cesar Chavez proved that with courage and dignity individuals can achieve anything. A stamp in his honor is a fitting tribute to his legacy."
-Henry Cisneros, American City Vista President and Chief Executive Officer
Remarks by Arturo S. Rodriguez, President United Farm Workers of America, AFL-CIO Unveiling Cesar Chavez Stamp September 18, 2002–Washington, D.C.
Today, organizing farm workers is still a daunting task. But 40 years ago this month, when Cesar Chavez founded the United Farm Workers of America, he was literally struggling against history.
For 100 years, every strike had been crushed. Every union had been defeated. Before Cesar, all the experts said farm workers couldn’t be organized. He spent 31 years proving them wrong.
He organized, led strikes, marched, boycotted and fasted. He won the first real union contracts between growers and farm workers in U.S. history. He negotiated contracts that provided farm workers with gains that were unimaginable only a short time before.
He won the first–and only–state law in the nation protecting the right to organize and bargain. He adopted key strategies that distinguished the UFW from the failed organizing attempts of the past:
* Nonviolence was always more than a strategy for Cesar. But it also won widespread public support for the cause.
* Cesar adopted self-imposed poverty. He know from history that past organizing efforts failed when the unions ran out of money.
* And he asked consumers across North America to boycott grapes and other products, forging a broad coalition behind the farm workers’ cause.
Yet I am convinced that at the core of Cesar’s success were a very a very simple principle: Unlike previous organizing efforts, which were imposed from the outside, Cesar–because he was a farm worker–sought to build a farm workers’ union that was by, for and of farm workers.
One reason farm workers were so drawn to him was because he was one of them. As his son, Paul, said of his father, "He walked among presidents and popes, but he never thought of himself as anything but a simple farm worker."
Years ago a reporter asked Cesar what accounted for the admiration and respect farm workers showed him in public. He smiled and just said, "The feeling is mutual."
On this day it is well to remember that you can’t honor the man without honoring his work. The greatest monument to Cesar Chavez is the union he built and the courage to work for change that he inspired in his own people. Those of us who succeed him are more committed than ever to finish the unfinished work of Cesar Chavez.
– end –
Remarks by Paul F. Chavez, President National Farm Workers Service Center, Inc. Unveiling Cesar Chavez Stamp Washington, D.C.–Sept. 18, 2002
We’re here to unveil a commemorative stamp honoring the life and work of my father. It is a fitting tribute to his place in American history and to what his legacy continues to mean for millions of people.
Nearly a decade after his passing, dozens of communities across the country have honored my father by naming streets, schools, parks and other public places after him. His birthday is an official holiday in five states.
Yet most people don’t remember how controversial my father was when he was alive or how much he shunned the very honors that have been bestowed upon him.
He was not a great orator. He had dark Indian features and straight black hair–before it turned grey. He was short and soft-spoken, and he was easy to lose in a crowd if you didn’t know who he was.
My father used to say that the organizer’s job is to help ordinary people do extraordinary things. He’d say that everyone in the movement has an important contribution to make, whether it’s cooking in the strike kitchen or arguing in court–and it’s the organizer’s job to help them make that contribution.
He also had great faith in the decency of Americans, what he called "our court of last resort." He believed that if farm workers could offer a simple, nonviolent appeal for justice, the American people would respond.
Maybe that’s why he succeeded where others failed for 100 years–by challenging and overcoming the awesome power of California’s richest industry.
By doing so, perhaps unwittingly, he also taught millions of Latinos and other Americans from all walks of life who never worked on a farm about the meaning of commitment and sacrifice for a cause larger than yourself. Millions of Americans can trace their social and political activism to this small brown man who never owned a house, didn’t own a car and never made more than $6,000 a year.
Even in death, my father still evokes strong feelings among friend and foe alike. Yet at a time when it seems too few people are inclined to risk their careers–much less their lives–on behalf of principle, the life of Cesar Chavez stands out with even greater moral force.
Thank you.