Maricopa mayor issues proclamation in memory of Cesar Chavez

Cesar Chavez (1927-1993) was the founder of the United Farm Workers of American. As a native Arizonan and an advocate for justice and equality, he is remembered today, on the anniversary of his birth.

It was Cesar Chavez who said, “If you are outraged at conditions, then you can’t possibly be free or happy until you devote all your time to changing them.”

On March 20 Mayor Kelly Anderson issued the following proclamation:

WHEREAS, Cesar E. Chavez was born March 31, 1927 on a small farm near Yuma, Arizona and died April 23, 1993; and

WHEREAS, as a second-generation American, Cesar E. Chavez at the age of 10 began life as a migrant farm worker when his father lost his farm during the Great Depression; and

WHEREAS, at the age of 18 Cesar E. Chavez joined the U.S. Navy, and served in the Western Pacific during the end of World War II; and

WHEREAS, as early as 1949, Cesar E. Chavez dedicated himself to fight for equality, justice, and dignity for all Americans, especially the often-forgotten men, women and children who toil in agricultural fields; and

WHEREAS, in 1952 Cesar E. Chavez became a full-time organizer with the Community Service Organization (CSO), coordinating voter registration drives, battling racial and economic discrimination primarily in urban areas and organizing new CSO chapters across California and Arizona; and

WHEREAS, in 1962 Cesar E. Chavez founded and led the first successful farm worker’s union in U.S. history, the United Farm Workers of America, AFL-CIO (UFW) which brought dignity and respect, fair wages, medical coverage, pension benefits, humane living conditions, and countless other rights, and protections to hundreds of thousands of farm workers; and

WHEREAS, through his commitment to nonviolence, Cesar E. Chavez led successful strikes and boycotts, resulting in the first industry-wide labor contracts in the history of American agriculture; and

WHEREAS, Cesar E. Chavez and the UFW’s efforts led to passage of groundbreaking legislation to protect farm workers including the only law in the nation that protects their right to unionize, the 1975 California Agricultural Labor Relations Act; and

WHEREAS, the significance and impact of Cesar E. Chavez’ life transcends any one cause or struggle, which continues to influence and inspire millions of Americans to seek social justice and civil right for the poor and disenfranchised in our society; and

WHEREAS, Cesar E. Chavez forged a diverse and extraordinary national coalition of students, middle-class consumers, trade unionists, religious groups, and minorities including, Latinos, Filipinos, Jews, Native Americans, African Americans, and gay and lesbians; and

WHEREAS, since his passing on April 23, 1993, dozens of communities across the nation have renamed and dedicated schools, parks, streets, libraries, other public facilities, awards and scholarships in his honor, and have enacted holidays of his birthday, March 31st, including a paid state holiday in California, optional state holidays in Colorado and Texas, commemorative state holidays in Arizona, New Mexico and Oregon, and countless city and county holidays throughout the United States; and

WHEREAS, Cesar E. Chavez was a recipient of the Martin Luther King, Jr. Peace Prize during his lifetime and was awarded posthumously the Presidential Medal of Freedom by President Clinton on August 8, 1994, the highest civilian honor in America; and

NOW, THEREFORE, I, Kelly Anderson, Mayor of the City of Maricopa, Arizona, do hereby recognize March 31st as the anniversary of the birth of Cesar E. Chavez and encourage all citizens of Maricopa to reflect on and honor the life of this distinguished leader, veteran, and American.

Thanks to Cesar Chavez we learned to dream of a greater tomorrow and to say “Si Se Puede.”