PROCLAMATION OF THE CITY OF EAST PALO ALTO
CELEBRATING CÉSAR E. CHAVEZ BIRTHDAY, HIS LEGACY AND THAT OF FARMWORKERS AND THE WORK OF THE CHAVEZ FAMILY VISION INC. ORGANIZATION
WHEREAS, César E. Chavez (March 31, 1927- April 23, 1993) was born near Yuma Arizona to Librado Chavez and Juana Estrada and lived/ worked in farms where he experienced and witnessed the oppressive treatment of migrant farmworkers of all ethnic backgrounds, and WHEREAS, after serving in the United States Navy in 1944 he married Helen Fabela and they moved to San Jose California to raise a family, and in the 1950's César E. Chavez became a community organizer helping to improve the life of neighborhoods in his community and rose to be the director of the statewide Community Services Organization (CSO), and
WHEREAS, in 1962 stirred by the injustices and inhumane treatment of farmworkers, César E. Chavez founded the National Farm Workers Association and was joined by Dolores Huerta, Larry Itliong, and others to form the UFW-United Farm Workers Union, and WHEREAS, the United Farm Workers with César E. Chavez leadership in the 1960's and '70s organized boycotts, marches, hunger strikes and education campaigns for social justice and human rights, and
WHEREAS, in East Palo Alto the César E. Chavez Academy was one of the first schools in the nation named in his honor in 1993, after his passing, and WHEREAS, members of his family including Rita Chavez Medina, his elder sister, were present at the naming celebration at an all school assembly attended by community leaders, officials, parents and staff of the Ravenswood City Elementary School District, as well as representatives of the UFW, and WHEREAS, on the 29th of March of 2018 the Comité Latino and the Asociación Familiar de la Tercera Edad (Family Seniors Association) held a public reception honoring the life and legacy of César E. Chavez at the East Palo Alto City Hall, with honored guests from the Chavez Family Vision organization, including Doña Rita Chavez Medina, and daughter Barbara Medina-Aranda, and WHEREAS, in 2019 after a yearlong community struggle by Comunidad Unida para una Mejor Educación with support from the Chavez Family Vision board, the Ravenswood School District authorities were stopped from removing the name César Chavez from the school, and WHEREAS, this March 31t 2022 at 6:30 pm a virtual event celebrating the legacy of César E. Chavez and the Farmworkers will be held in East Palo Alto, initiating planning for a 2023 "Week of Service to Humanity" by local youth and a rededication of the name of the school in the Fall of 2022.
NOW THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED, that the City Council of East Palo Alto, hereby recognizes César E. Chavez birthday on March 31, 2022 and his legacy of social justice, and labor and human rights work on behalf of all people and also recognizes the work of the Chavez Family Vision Inc. organization in maintaining that legacy, and encourages the community of East Palo Alto to celebrate and continue the work of social, racial and economic justice. Sí Se Puede!!! Dated: March 15, 2022
EAST PARO
Ruben Abrica, Mayor
ACOREO AR