Smithsonian Magazine identified Cesar Chavez’s most most enduring legacy as having given “people a sense of their own power.” Along those lines, this morning on KQED public radio, Erick Olvera shared why, for him and his friends and family, every day is a day to honor Cesar Chavez. Listen or read today’s “With a Perspective” by Erik Olvera.
César Chávez Day is commemorated yearly on March 31 and celebrates the life, legacy and birthday of César Estrada Chávez, a champion for social justice and founder of the United Farmworkers alongside Dolores Huerta. It is a day to celebrate the contributions of migrant communities to our country and highlight the need to advocate for migrant rights.
In 1962 Cesar Chavez established an organization that became the United Farm Workers. The union, which grew out of his own struggles as a child and adult picking cotton and grapes, negotiated hundreds of contracts to protect farmworker safety and wages in California.
