Segundo Barrio march honors Cesar Chavez and our farmworkers

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EL PASO — Shouts of “si se puede! and viva Cesar Chavez” followed the residents of Segundo Barrio — El Paso’s historic neighborhood settled by Mexican immigrants a century ago — into the streets as they were carried along in a river of red flags. Downtown El Paso paused March 31 to watch some 300 residents of Segundo Barrio walk through the downtown area to remember the great Chicano labor leader on his birthday. Participants gathered in the late afternoon at the Border Farmworkers Center (Centro de los Trabajadores Agricolas Fronterizos) on Oregon Street. “We are here to remember Cesar Chavez, and the annual event the Centro has in Segundo Barrio brings out different people from the community.

Erasmo Andrade with César Chavez, 1985. (Courtesy of the Andrade family.)

They might be giants

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Teaching and Learning and Caring Blog

EL PASO – No, not the New York/New Jersey football team, the 1982 alternative rock band, or the 1971 George C. Scott movie. Even better, they are civil rights heroes among us, standing up and moving for what they believe in. March 31 was César Chavez day. A year ago on this day, I marched in honor of César with Erasmo and Sally Andrade, both long-time advocates of social justice. Erasmo died March 30, 2012.

My semester of protest for César Chávez

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EL PASO — The spring 2011 semester at the University of Texas at El Paso is one that should live on in the hearts and minds of the people who experienced it, for their entire lives. It began with a simple exclamation by the president of the Student Government. César Chávez Day would no longer be celebrated on this campus in order to better facilitate the Campus’ schedule. This led to a series of student protests that culminated with Pete Duarte, CEO of Thomason Hospital and former director of Centro de Salud Familiar La Fe, returning his Golden Nugget alumni award to protest the holiday’s loss. As this semester rolled along, I had many opportunities to explore the significance of César Chávez Day.

18 years after his death, Cesar Chavez still battles in the Texas Legislature

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EL PASO – The after-effects of UTEP’s decision to preserve César Chávez Day as a holiday still continue to be felt both across the campus and frontiers beyond. The decision, which was officially passed on February 8th, ensures that the holiday, held in honor of the Mexican-American champion of fair labor, will be celebrated by the students this year, despite the fact the campus will remain open to faculty and staff. The decision comes as a result of a massive organizational effort by the UTEP student body, and is considered a decisive victory by its supporters. Yet very few people outside the campus might be aware of the enormous impact this decision makes in this state’s political arena. The reason César Chávez Day was originally threatened with cancellation was due to a proposed decision by the state of Texas to re-define and eliminate the basic elements of the holiday.

César Chavez Day – Image Gallery

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EL PASO − Every year on Cesar Chavez Day, the Centro de los Trabajadores Agrícolas Fronterizos holds a march in downtown El Paso to honor the man who started the movement for justice and dignity of farmworkers, La Causa. This year’s rally was the typical gathering of social activists, community leaders, students, farmworkers and artists. But what set this year’s rally apart from the rest was this year it was also a victory lap. In January, the Faculty Senate at the University of Texas at El Paso voted to remove Cesar Chavez Day as an official, observed school holiday. Through the leadership of student organizations and the community, the holiday was reinstated when the pressure forced the Senate to re-assess their decision.

People at the bottom seeking change still look up to César Chávez

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EL PASO — César Chávez was buried — to his wishes — in a plain pine coffin built by his brother, Richard. This was a simple, even selfless request from one of the most influential and celebrated figures in American history. It spoke to Chávez’s humility in his struggle for workers’ rights: to be remembered as a fellow soldier and not as a decorated leader or a messiah. The death of the figurehead meant a new life for the cause, La Causa became Nuestra Causa. The man would have celebrated 84 years of life this year.

With poverty still a way of life, Segundo Barrio remembers Cesar Chavez

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EL PASO – On a warm, windy March afternoon, the inhabitants of one of El Paso’s most rustic and historic neighborhoods gathered for a carnival held in honor of Cesar Chavez. Centro de Salud Familiar La Fe held a carnival for the famed social justice leader on the grounds of La Fe Preparatory School on Saturday the 26th of March. Hundreds were in attendance, many of them residents of the Segundo Barrio, one of the poorest neighborhoods in the United States. “We need to keep the legacy of Cesar Chavez alive,” says John Estrada, who is a member of the board of directors at La Fe. “And this is one of the ways we do it, through Centro de Salud Familiar La Fe.”

The board of directors of La Fe have supported this event for over 10 years, with the event taking place on the elementary school grounds for the past three years.

Cesar Chavez remembered by colleagues at Imperial Valley College

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IMPERIAL, Calif.–Students, faculty, and friends gathered in the college center of Imperial Valley College to celebrate Cesar Chavez Day on Thursday. Opening the celebration, was a performance by Mariachi Mixteco, followed by guest speaker Esteban Jaramillo, a comrade of the late labor rights leader. Jaramillo participated in many marches with Chavez, and Chavez unionize farm labor. Jaramillo’s inspiration for wanting to help the farm-working community came from his father. “I worked in the fields with my father for one day,” Jaramillo said.

UTEP loves Cesar Chavez

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March 31 declared a ‘no classes’ day
EL PASO, Texas — After several letters of protest, a rally and march to the President’s Office and a Gold Nugget recipient returning his award, Cesar Chavez Day is back as a “no classes” day only for this year. At their monthly meeting Feb. 8, the Faculty Senate voted in favor of reinstating Cesar Chavez Day and Spring Study Day as holidays for students. Last November, the same entity removed both dates from the school’s calendar to meet a requirement by the state legislature that mandated them to choose 12 staff holidays per academic year. The reinstatement of the holiday was announced through an e-mail sent by the President’s Office, which included a statement from UTEP President Diana Natalicio.

César Chávez’ struggle rings again on the UTEP campus: This is just the beginning, says student leader

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ELPASO, Texas — A decision to remove César Chavez Day as an observed school holiday taken by the University of Texas at El Paso Faculty Senate touched a nerve at this Hispanic-majority institution. “We were under pressure to make a quick decision,” said Faculty Senate President Dr. Carl S. Lieb, a professor of biology. The vote on November 9 by the faculty Catalog and Calendar Committee, followed by a unanimous vote by the senate, was in response to a Texas State Legislature cost-cutting directive to remove two holidays from the school’s schedule. “The first recommendation to come was to take away the Spring Study Day and Cesar Chavez Day, or (to) take one of the existing staff holidays during the winter break,” Lieb said. Spring Study Day, a faculty holiday on the Friday of Spring Break also was eliminated.