[Congressional Record Volume 158, Number 51 (Wednesday, March 28, 2012)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E476-E477]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                     HONORING CESAR ESTRADA CHAVEZ

                                 ______
                                 

                          HON. XAVIER BECERRA

                             of california

                    in the house of representatives

                       Wednesday, March 28, 2012

  Mr. BECERRA. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to celebrate the legacy of an 
American icon, Cesar Estrada Chavez, leader of the United Farm Workers, 
born on March 31, 1927. This Saturday, we celebrate the 85th 
anniversary of his birth.
  Cesar Chavez was born in Yuma, Arizona, to a life filled with early 
hardships, poverty and racial and social injustice. These experiences 
were his first lessons in what our nation should not be for millions of 
Americans.
  As a result of his family's losses during the Great Depression, Cesar 
Chavez's family, like so many others, migrated to California to work in 
the farm fields picking crops in hopes of economic stability. They 
eventually settled in San Jose where they lived in a barrio called Sal 
Si Puedes, ``Get Out If You Can.''
  Cesar Chavez often recalled the early injustices he experienced in 
school, and later as a farmworker. He vividly remembered throughout his 
life the prohibition of Spanish in school and being punished for 
speaking it. . . or even the signs in his community that said ``Whites 
Only.''
  His experience was universal for many in that era, whether they were 
Latino, African-American, Asian American or others facing 
discrimination. My own father encountered signs that read ``No dogs and 
Mexicans Allowed'' during this time.
  It was on account of this type of blatant discrimination and racism 
that Cesar Chavez devoted his life to fighting for social and economic 
justice in our nation. Events around our nation remind us that the need 
for such a champion is still present today.
  In 1962, alongside Dolores Huerta, Cesar Chavez founded the National 
Farm Workers Association, later to become the United Farm Workers, an 
organization that came to be known as the driving force of the 
organized labor movement for farmworkers in the U.S.
  This movement, or ``La Causa'' as it was known in millions of homes 
including mine, taught us that solidarity, even in the face of brutal 
adversity can lead to victory. The ``No

[[Page E477]]

Grapes'' campaign and boycott led by Cesar Chavez and UFW was an 
omnipresent part of my youth and of many of my colleagues serving here 
today.
  We knew what it meant to not buy grapes and not eat them, to feel 
proud of being part of something bigger than ourselves, even if it 
meant going without something we loved, or answering curious questions 
from friends or classmates. And for me, when victory came, it was 
sweet--literally and figuratively--and my small sacrifice seemed like 
the most powerful thing in the world.
  On the 85th anniversary of Cesar Chavez's birth, we are reminded that 
his personal story is one of transformation and legacy. He transformed 
his early experiences from Sal Si Puedes into ``Si Se Puede'', ``Yes, 
we can.''
  Those words still ring true today, and serve as a mantra of hope for 
millions of Americans who seek fairness and equal treatment. Just ask 
the President of the United States.
  Mr. Speaker, today we reflect on Cesar Chavez's lifetime of advocacy 
in the pursuit of social justice. Let us hope our legacy will be as 
enduring as that of our beloved leader and brother Cesar Chavez.

                          ____________________