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[Congressional Bills 110th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. Res. 138 Introduced in Senate (IS)]

110th CONGRESS
  1st Session
S. RES. 138

    Honoring the accomplishments and legacy of Cesar Estrada Chavez.

_______________________________________________________________________

                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                             March 29, 2007

   Mr. Salazar (for himself, Mr. Menendez, Mr. Reid, Mr. Durbin, Ms. 
 Stabenow, Mr. Bingaman, Mrs. Boxer, Mrs. Clinton, Mr. Lieberman, Mr. 
  Webb, and Mr. Kerry) submitted the following resolution; which was 
               referred to the Committee on the Judiciary

_______________________________________________________________________

                               RESOLUTION

 
    Honoring the accomplishments and legacy of Cesar Estrada Chavez.

Whereas Cesar Estrada Chavez was born on March 31, 1927, near Yuma, Arizona, 
        where he spent his early years on his family's farm,
Whereas, at the age of 10, Cesar Estrada Chavez joined the thousands of migrant 
        farm workers laboring in fields and vineyards throughout the Southwest, 
        when his family lost their farm due to a bank foreclosure;
Whereas Cesar Estrada Chavez, after attending more than 30 elementary and middle 
        schools and achieving an eighth-grade education, left to work full-time 
        as a farm worker to help support his family;
Whereas, at the age of 17, Cesar Estrada Chavez entered the United States Navy 
        and served the Nation with distinction for 2 years;
Whereas, in 1948, Cesar Estrada Chavez returned from military service to marry 
        Helen Fabela, whom he met working in the vineyards of central 
        California, and had 8 children;
Whereas, as early as 1949, Cesar Estrada Chavez committed himself to organizing 
        farm workers to campaign for safe and fair working conditions, 
        reasonable wages, decent housing, and the outlawing of child labor;
Whereas, in 1952, Cesar Estrada Chavez joined the Community Service 
        Organization, a prominent Latino civil rights group, and worked to 
        coordinate voter registration drives and conduct campaigns against 
        discrimination in East Los Angeles, and later served as the national 
        director of the organization;
Whereas, in 1962, Cesar Estrada Chavez left the Community Service Organization 
        to found the National Farm Workers Association, which eventually became 
        the United Farm Workers of America;
Whereas Cesar Estrada Chavez was a strong believer in the principles of 
        nonviolence practiced by Mahatma Gandhi and Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.;
Whereas Cesar Estrada Chavez effectively utilized peaceful tactics, such as 
        fasting in 1968 for 25 days, in 1972 for 25 days, and in 1988 for 38 
        days, to call attention to the terrible working and living conditions of 
        farm workers in the United States;
Whereas, under the leadership of Cesar Estrada Chavez, the United Farm Workers 
        of America organized thousands of migrant farm workers to fight for fair 
        wages, health care coverage, pension benefits, livable housing, and 
        respect;
Whereas, through his commitment to nonviolence, Cesar Estrada Chavez brought 
        dignity and respect to the farm workers who organized themselves, and 
        became an inspiration and a resource to other people in the United 
        States and people engaged in human rights struggles throughout the 
        world;
Whereas the influence of Cesar Estrada Chavez extends far beyond agriculture and 
        provides inspiration for those working to better human rights, to 
        empower workers, and to advance an American Dream that includes all its 
        inhabitants of the United States;
Whereas Cesar Estrada Chavez died on April 23, 1993, in San Luis, Arizona, only 
        miles from his birthplace of 66 years earlier;
Whereas more than 50,000 people attended the funeral services of Cesar Estrada 
        Chavez in Delano, California, and he was laid to rest at the 
        headquarters of the United Farm Workers of America, known as Nuestra 
        Senora de La Paz, located in the Tehachapi Mountains at Keene, 
        California;
Whereas, since his death, schools, parks, streets, libraries, and other public 
        facilities, and awards and scholarships have been named in honor of 
        Cesar Estrada Chavez;
Whereas, since his death, 8 States and dozens of communities across the Nation 
        honor the life and legacy of Cesar Estrada Chavez on March 31 of each 
        year, the day of his birth;
Whereas Cesar Estrada Chavez was a recipient of the Martin Luther King, Jr. 
        Peace Prize during his lifetime, and after his death was awarded the 
        Presidential Medal of Freedom on August 8, 1994; and
Whereas the United States should not cease its efforts to ensure equality, 
        justice, and dignity for all people in the United States: Now, 
        therefore, be it
    Resolved, That the Senate--
            (1) recognizes the accomplishments and example of a great 
        American hero, Cesar Estrada Chavez;
            (2) pledges to promote the legacy of Cesar Estrada Chavez; 
        and
            (3) encourages the people of the United States to 
        commemorate the legacy of Cesar Estrada Chavez, and to always 
        remember his great rallying cry, ``Si, se puede!''.
                                 <all>
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