In this PBS documentary Cesar Chavez is stated to be the most important Latino leader in the United States. It is true. What he accomplished was nothing short of incredible. He brought recognition to the substandard living and working conditions of Hispanic American farm workers in California and Florida.
The living conditions of these forgotten Americans were subhuman. The housing, if any were available, was a shack where they could get out of the sun and sleep with some shelter, but, it was never a home. The people were considered derelict and unworthy of esteem. The workers were basically homeless. Their work was extremely difficult, long hours but one of the most vital needs for labor in the USA. These workers fed the nation, while their children had few rations on a daily basis.
12:14AM EST October 9. 2012 - President Obama traveled (click here) to Southern California on Monday to announce the establishment of a national monument to the Mexican-American union organizer César Chávez, while offering Hispanic voters a subtle nudge less than a month before Election Day.
While the trip to Keene, Calif., to pay tribute to the founder of the United Farm Workers was technically official White House business, it also helped magnify Obama's outreach efforts to the Hispanic community. It is an important voting bloc whose turnout could be crucial to his chances in the battleground states of Colorado, Florida, New Mexico, Nevada, North Carolina and Virginia....
It was an honor for President Obama to be with Hispanic Americans today in recognition of Cesar Chavez. It was convenient there is a Presidential election this year, but, he would have been there anyway.
This was the second time this year a monument was dedicated to great minority leaders. Today is was Chavez and in the recent past Dr. King. This has been an incredible year for the President overseeing the recognition of great and benevolent people in the minority communities.
Cesar Chavez' grave is marked by a simple cross.
"Every time somebody's son or daughter comes and learns about the history of this movement," Obama said, "I want them to know that our journey is never hopeless, our work is never done."
He also said: "Our world is a better place because Cesar Chavez decided to change it. Let us honor his memory. But most importantly, let's live up to his example."
...The justices (click here) struck down three other parts of the law:
- One making it a crime for an illegal immigrant to work or to seek work in Arizona;
- One which authorized state and local officers to arrest people without a warrant if the officers have probable cause to believe a person is an illegal immigrant;
- And one that made it a state requirement for immigrants to register with the federal government.
The Arizona laws were a regression in time and an insult to the progress Hispanics made in the USA.
I thank President Obama for commemorating this great American today. I am confident the ceremony would not have achieved the depth without him. I congratulate the Hispanic community on this great achievement and recognition. Perhaps, now, they will finally be considered as much a part of the USA as the first settlers.
