Cesar Chavez Day March 31
"Once social change begins it cannot be reversed. You cannot un-educate the person that has learned to read. You cannot humiliate the person who feels pride. You cannot oppress the people who are not afraid anymore."
Cesar Chavez
Today is Cesar Chavez's birthday. He would have been 93 years old today. We wonder how he would be feeling about and resisting current events. This quote of his words above gives us a glimmer. And yet, the fear so many people have right now is all too real because of their residency status, their lack of papers, or simply the color of their skin or the sound of their voice.
Maybe we all need a reminder about the critical role immigrants crossing the southern border have played in the work history of this country. You can’t tell that story without understanding the role of racism and stolen land. How are you telling that story in your classrooms and living rooms today?
Dolores Huerta worked side by side with Cesar Chavez and yet she has only been recognized for her leadership in recent times. Please watch this youtube clip to hear her very recent and relevant comments on the history of farmworkers and immigration:
https://youtu.be/OZxiNhBdvkI?si=DyHIrX76DJwRwuh8
The legacy of Huerta and Chavez and the farmworkers movement lives with us today as an ongoing model of determination and solidarity. Some schools and communities have a holiday to commemorate Cesar Chavez day. We are guessing that the celebrations today might look a bit different. In fact, they would be discouraged in any form by today’s Administration in this country.
We hope children everywhere will be hearing the stories of the farmworkers movement and learning about the efforts of workers, laborers, everyday people to claim their right to work safely and with dignity. We also hope that as educators, parents, community organizers and activists, we can begin or continue to build conversations and coalitions that bring to bear the connection and ties between farm workers, coal miners, meat packers, construction workers, restaurant workers, child care workers, immigrants present and past.
Tragically today, these are all the same workplaces and populations where people are living in fear of a raid from ICE. In workplaces, schools, and on the streets, people who are simply trying to live a life that is more secure and safe are being targeted by the government.
It is time we must all stand together. Workers everywhere have commonalities and similarities in our struggles. And, there is a shared tradition of resistance. There is a shared experience of sweat and toil and determination to survive. There is a shared conviction of the right to safe work conditions and a fair, living wage. WE hope there is a shared belief that none of the workers in our communities should be yanked out of their homes or workplaces and detained without due process.
How do we show up for young children and their families who are living with the fear of deportation?
“Walk the street with us into history. Get off the sidewalk!”
Dolores Huerta
When we are better able to hear and see and connect the struggles of all people, and to act against the marginalization and isolation so prevalent in this society, we will be more able to see the path forward as a united people who can read, who feel pride and who are not afraid anymore. Thank you Dolores Huerta and Cesar Chavez.
Written by Katie Kissinger
