[Congressional Bills 114th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H. Res. 178 Introduced in House (IH)]

114th CONGRESS
  1st Session
H. RES. 178

   Honoring the accomplishments and legacy of Ceesar Estrada Chaavez.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                             March 26, 2015

   Mr. Caardenas (for himself, Ms. Roybal-Allard, Mr. Gallego, Mrs. 
 Torres, Mr. Sablan, Mrs. Napolitano, Mr. Gutieerrez, Mr. Vargas, Ms. 
  Linda T. Saanchez of California, Ms. Michelle Lujan Grisham of New 
  Mexico, Ms. Loretta Sanchez of California, Mr. Castro of Texas, Mr. 
Smith of Washington, Mr. Ruiz, Mr. Lewis, Mr. Sherman, Ms. Norton, Mr. 
   Doggett, Mr. Aguilar, Ms. Chu of California, Ms. Jackson Lee, Mr. 
 Hinojosa, Mr. Sires, and Mrs. Watson Coleman) submitted the following 
   resolution; which was referred to the Committee on Oversight and 
                           Government Reform

_______________________________________________________________________

                               RESOLUTION


 
   Honoring the accomplishments and legacy of Ceesar Estrada Chaavez.

Whereas Ceesar Estrada Chaavez was born on March 31, 1927, near Yuma, Arizona;
Whereas Ceesar Estrada Chaavez spent his early years on a family farm;
Whereas, at the age of 10, Ceesar Estrada Chaavez 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 Ceesar Estrada Chaavez, 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;
Whereas, at the age of 17, Ceesar Estrada Chaavez entered the United States Navy 
        and served the United States with distinction for 2 years;
Whereas, in 1948, Ceesar Estrada Chaavez returned from military service to marry 
        Helen Fabela, whom he had met while working in the vineyards of central 
        California;
Whereas Ceesar Estrada Chaavez and Helen Fabela had 8 children;
Whereas, as early as 1949, Ceesar Estrada Chaavez 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, Ceesar Estrada Chaavez 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 Ceesar Estrada Chaavez served as the national director of the Community 
        Service Organization;
Whereas, in 1962, Ceesar Estrada Chaavez left the Community Service Organization 
        to found the National Farm Workers Association, which eventually became 
        the United Farm Workers of America;
Whereas Ceesar Estrada Chaavez was a strong believer in the principles of 
        nonviolence practiced by Mahatma Gandhi and Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.;
Whereas Ceesar Estrada Chaavez 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, under the leadership of Ceesar Estrada Chaavez, 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, Ceesar Estrada Chaavez 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 Ceesar Estrada Chaavez extends far beyond agriculture 
        and provides inspiration for those working to better human rights, 
        empower workers, and advance the American Dream, which includes all 
        inhabitants of the United States;
Whereas Ceesar Estrada Chaavez 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 Ceesar Estrada 
        Chaavez in Delano, California;
Whereas Ceesar Estrada Chaavez was laid to rest at the headquarters of the 
        United Farm Workers of America, known as Nuestra Sennora de La Paz, 
        located in the Tehachapi Mountains in Keene, California;
Whereas, since the death of Ceesar Estrada Chaavez, schools, parks, streets, 
        libraries, and other public facilities, as well as awards and 
        scholarships, have been named in his honor;
Whereas 10 States and dozens of communities across the United States honor the 
        life and legacy of Ceesar Estrada Chaavez on March 31st of each year;
Whereas, during his lifetime, Ceesar Estrada Chaavez was a recipient of the 
        Martin Luther King, Jr. Peace Prize;
Whereas, on August 8, 1994, Ceesar Estrada Chaavez was posthumously awarded the 
        Presidential Medal of Freedom;
Whereas President Barack Obama honored the life of service of Ceesar Estrada 
        Chaavez by proclaiming March 31, 2012, to be ``Ceesar Chaavez Day'';
Whereas, on October 8, 2012, President Barack Obama authorized the Secretary of 
        the Interior to establish a Ceesar Estrada Chaavez National Monument in 
        Keene, California; and
Whereas the United States should continue the efforts of Ceesar Estrada Chaavez 
        to ensure equality, justice, and dignity for all people of the United 
        States: Now, therefore, be it
    Resolved, That the House of Representatives--
            (1) recognizes the accomplishments and example of a great 
        hero of the United States, Ceesar Estrada Chaavez;
            (2) pledges to promote the legacy of Ceesar Estrada 
        Chaavez; and
            (3) encourages the people of the United States to 
        commemorate the legacy of Ceesar Estrada Chaavez and to always 
        remember his great rallying cry, ``tSii, se puede!'', which is 
        Spanish for ``Yes, we can!''.
                                 <all>