Approved as to Form and Legality
City Attorney’s Office
OAKLAND CITY COUNCIL
RESOLUTION NO. _______________ C.M.S.
INTRODUCED BY COUNCILMEMBER NOEL GALLO
AND COUNCILMEMBER DAN KALB
RESOLUTION IN CELEBRATION OF CESAR ESTRADA CHAVEZ DAY
IN HONOR HIS LEGACY AS A CIVIL RIGHTS ACTIVIST AND CO -
FOUNDER OF THE UNITED FARM WORKERS ASSOCIATION
WHEREAS, Cesar Estrada Chavez was born March 31, 1927 on a small farm near Yuma Arizona, and was raised by mig rant farm workers who lost their homestead due to foreclosure in the 1930s; and
WHEREAS, Cesar E. Chavez left school after the eighth grade to labor in the fields and vineyards to help support his family and experienced years of discrimination and unfair working conditions; and
WHEREAS, in 1952, Cesar E. Chavez became a grassroots organizer for the Community Service Organization, a Latino civil rights group that organized Chicanos to vote and battle racial and economic discrimination; and
WHEREAS, ten years later in 1962, Cesar E. Chavez and Dolores Huerta co-founded the National Farm Workers Association and traveled around San Joaquin Valley and Imperial Valley to recruit union members; and
WHEREAS, Cesar E. Chavez was inspired by the practices o f Mahatma Gandhi and Dr.
Martin Luther King, Jr., and used nonviolent civil disobedience to bring attention to the plight of farm workers and led marches, called for boycotts, went on several hunger strikes, and brought national awareness to the dangers of pesticides to farm workers' health; and
WHEREAS, Cesar E. Chavez’s efforts for equality and justice resulted in health benefits for farm workers and their families and the first union contracts requiring rest periods, clean drinking water, hand washing stations, and protective clothing against pesticide exposure; and
2 WHEREAS, every March 31st we celebrate Cesar E. Chavez Day and commend the legacy he leaves behind as an American civil rights activist who advocated for immigration reform, the hiring of u ndocumented workers, gay rights, livable wages, and equal access to healthcare; now, therefore, be it
RESOLVED: That the City of Oakland recognizes and celebrates Cesar E. Chavez Day and honors the social impacts of his activism.
IN COUNCIL, OAKLAND, CALIFORNIA,
PASSED BY THE FOLLOWING VOTE:
AYES - FIFE, GALLO, KALB, KAPLAN, REID, TAYLOR, THAO AND
PRESIDENT FORTUNATO BAS
NOES –
ABSENT –
ABSTENTION –
ATTEST:
ASHA REED
City Clerk and Clerk of the Council of the
City of Oakland, California