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[Congressional Bills 111th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. Res. 92 Introduced in Senate (IS)]

111th CONGRESS
  1st Session
S. RES. 92

    Honoring the accomplishments and legacy of Cesar Estrada Chavez.

_______________________________________________________________________

                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                             March 31, 2009

 Mr. Menendez (for himself, Mr. Bingaman, Mr. Kennedy, Mr. Durbin, Ms. 
 Stabenow, Mrs. Boxer, Mr. Begich, Mr. Burris, Mr. Reid, Mr. Schumer, 
    Mr. Udall of Colorado, and Mr. Bennet) 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, 10 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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