By Alex Paul, Gazette-Times reporter
"Si, se puede! … Si, se puede!" chanted students in Kinsey Martin’s third-grade class at Lincoln School as they picked up small, colored placards and marched in a tight circle Tuesday morning.
It means "Yes, we can!," and is the rallying cry of the United Farm Workers union co-founded by Latino human rights activist Cesar Chavez.
The students in the dual immersion English/Spanish language class invited other classrooms to take part in half-hour workshops about the life of Chavez and his decades-long struggle to secure better working conditions, higher wages and respect for migrant farm laborers across the U.S.
Eight states recognize Chavez’s birthday as a holiday and many others have named streets, parks and buildings in his honor. Chavez was born on March 31, 1927, and died on April 13, 1993.
Students rotated among five learning tables staffed by Martin’s students. Each focused on a different topic relating to Chavez’s life: Who is Cesar Chavez? What is a farm worker? How did Cesar Chavez help farmer workers? Why do others agree with Cesar Chavez? Why is Cesar Chavez an American hero? At this table, students were invited to vote on whether they believe Chavez was or was not a hero.
"It’s fun and the kids are learning new stuff," Alina Gabriel, 9, said. "He was an awesome dude and he helped a lot of Latino people. They weren’t getting enough money."
For educational assistant Lilia Husen, 58, the day of activities brought back memories of when her family supported Chavez’s efforts and of his visits to Oregon, including stops to rally support in Corvallis and Eugene in 1973.
Born in Mexico, Husen and her family moved to Oregon in 1962.
"In Corvallis, we boycotted buying grapes and lettuce," Husen said. "I wouldn’t buy grapes for years. My twin sister was even more involved than I was. We never worked in the fields, but we saw the injustices."
Farm workers lived in substandard housing, were poorly paid and were subjected to highly potent pesticides that Husen believes caused birth defects among workers’ children.
Husen called Tuesday’s event "a great day, it’s about time we start teaching our children about heroes in this country. He spent has life helping others. It’s past time that we honor a Latino leader."
Teacher Kinsey Martin said this was the first year that her 33 students have participated in this type of activity.
"We have been studying Cesar Chavez and social justice all year long," Martin said.
"The students thought it would be fun, because today is his birthday."
Alex Paul can be contacted at alex.paul@lee.net or by calling 758-9526.