III 

116TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION S. RES. 559 

Honoring the accomplishments and legacy of Ce ́sar Estrada Cha ́vez. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

MAY 5, 2020 

Mr. MENENDEZ (for himself, Mr. BENNET, Mr. BLUMENTHAL, Mr. BOOKER, 

Ms. CORTEZ MASTO, Ms. DUCKWORTH, Mr. DURBIN, Ms. HARRIS, Mr. 

HEINRICH, Ms. HIRONO, and Ms. KLOBUCHAR) submitted the following 

resolution; which was referred to the Committee on the Judiciary 

RESOLUTION 

Honoring the accomplishments and legacy of Ce ́sar Estrada 

Cha ́vez. 

Whereas Ce ́sar Estrada Cha ́vez was born on March 31, 1927, 

near Yuma, Arizona; 

Whereas Ce ́sar Estrada Cha ́vez spent his early years on a 

family farm; 

Whereas, at the age of 10, Ce ́sar Estrada Cha ́vez joined the 

thousands of migrant farm workers laboring in fields and 

vineyards throughout the Southwest after a bank foreclosure resulted in the loss of the family farm; 

Whereas Ce ́sar Estrada Cha ́vez, after attending more than 

30 elementary and middle schools and achieving an 

eighth grade education, left school to work full-time as a 

farm worker to help support his family; 


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•SRES 559 IS 

Whereas, at the age of 17, Ce ́sar Estrada Cha ́vez entered the 

United States Navy and served the United States with 

distinction for 2 years; 

Whereas, in 1948, Ce ́sar Estrada Cha ́vez returned from military service to marry Helen Fabela, whom he had met 

while working in the vineyards of central California; 

Whereas Ce ́sar Estrada Cha ́vez and Helen Fabela had 8 children; 

Whereas, as early as 1949, Ce ́sar Estrada Cha ́vez was committed to organizing farm workers to campaign for safe 

and fair working conditions, reasonable wages, livable 

housing, and the outlawing of child labor; 

Whereas, in 1952, Ce ́sar Estrada Cha ́vez joined the Community Service Organization, a prominent Latino civil rights 

group, and worked with the organization to coordinate 

voter registration drives and conduct campaigns against 

discrimination in East Los Angeles; 

Whereas Ce ́sar Estrada Cha ́vez served as the national director of the Community Service Organization; 

Whereas, in 1962, Ce ́sar Estrada Cha ́vez left the Community 

Service Organization to establish the National Farm 

Workers Association, which eventually became the United 

Farm Workers of America; 

Whereas, under the leadership of Ce ́sar Estrada Cha ́vez, 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 Ce ́sar Estrada Cha ́vez was a strong believer in the 

principles of nonviolence practiced by Mahatma Gandhi 

and Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.; 


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Whereas Ce ́sar Estrada Cha ́vez effectively used peaceful tactics that included fasting for 25 days in 1968, 25 days 

in 1972, and 38 days in 1988 to call attention to the terrible working and living conditions of farm workers in the 

United States; 

Whereas, through his commitment to nonviolence, Ce ́sar 

Estrada Cha ́vez brought dignity and respect to the organized farm workers and became an inspiration to and a 

resource for individuals engaged in human rights struggles throughout the world; 

Whereas the influence of Ce ́sar Estrada Cha ́vez extends far 

beyond agriculture and provides inspiration for individuals working to better human rights, empower workers, 

and advance the American Dream, which includes all individuals of the United States; 

Whereas Ce ́sar Estrada Cha ́vez died on April 23, 1993, at 

the age of 66 in San Luis, Arizona, only miles from his 

birthplace; 

Whereas more than 50,000 people attended the funeral services of Ce ́sar Estrada Cha ́vez in Delano, California; 

Whereas Ce ́sar Estrada Cha ́vez was laid to rest at the headquarters of the United Farm Workers of America, known 

as ‘‘Nuestra Sen ̃ora de La Paz’’, located in the 

Tehachapi Mountains in Keene, California; 

Whereas, since the death of Ce ́sar Estrada Cha ́vez, schools, 

parks, streets, libraries, and other public facilities, as well 

as awards and scholarships, have been named in his 

honor; 

Whereas more than 10 States and dozens of communities 

across the United States honor the life and legacy of 

Ce ́sar Estrada Cha ́vez each year on March 31; 


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Whereas March 31 is recognized as an official State holiday 

in California, Colorado, and Texas, and there is growing 

support to designate the birthday of Ce ́sar Estrada 

Cha ́vez as a national day of service to memorialize his 

heroism; 

Whereas, during his lifetime, Ce ́sar Estrada Cha ́vez was a recipient of the Martin Luther King Jr. Peace Prize; 

Whereas, on August 8, 1994, Ce ́sar Estrada Cha ́vez was 

posthumously awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom; 

Whereas, on October 8, 2012, President Barack Obama authorized the Secretary of the Interior to establish a Ce ́sar 

Estrada Cha ́vez National Monument in Keene, California; 

Whereas President Barack Obama was the last President to 

honor the life and service of Ce ́sar Estrada Cha ́vez by 

proclaiming March 31, 2016, to be ‘‘Ce ́sar Cha ́vez Day’’ 

and by asking all people of the United States to observe 

March 31 with service, community, and education programs to honor the enduring legacy of Ce ́sar Estrada 

Cha ́vez; and 

Whereas the United States should continue the efforts of 

Ce ́sar Estrada Cha ́vez to ensure equality, justice, and 

dignity for all people of the United States: Now, therefore, be it 

1 Resolved, That the Senate— 

2 (1) recognizes the accomplishments and exam3 ple of Ce ́sar Estrada Cha ́vez, a great hero of the 

4 United States; 


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1 (2) pledges to promote the legacy of Ce ́sar 

2 Estrada Cha ́vez; and 

3 (3) encourages the people of the United States 

4 to commemorate the legacy of Ce ́sar Estrada Cha ́vez 

5 and to always remember his great rallying cry, ‘‘≠Sı ́, 

6 se puede!’’, which is Spanish for ‘‘Yes, we can!’’. 

Æ 


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