[Congressional Record Volume 168, Number 99 (Thursday, June 9, 2022)]
[Senate]
[Pages S2895-S2896]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
By Mr. PADILLA (for himself and Mrs. Feinstein):
S. 4371. A bill to establish the Cesar E. Chavez and the
Farmworker Movement National Historical Park in the States of
California and Arizona, and for other purposes; to the
Committee on Energy and Natural Resources.
Mr. PADILLA. Mr. President, I rise to introduce the Cesar E. Chavez
and the Farmworker Movement National Historical Park Act.
This legislation would establish the Cesar E. Chavez and the
Farmworker Movement National Historical Park in California and Arizona
to preserve the nationally significant sites associated with Cesar
Chavez and the farm worker movement.
In 2008, with strong bipartisan support, Congress enacted legislation
directing the National Park Service to conduct a special resource study
of sites that are significant to the life of Cesar Chavez and the farm
labor movement in the Western United States. The National Park Service
evaluated over 100 sites that were significant to Cesar Chavez and the
farm labor movement in thy stern United States and found that five
sites were ``nationally significant.'' Importantly, the Park Service
wrote that these nationally significant sites depict a distinct and
important aspect of American history associated with civil rights and
labor movements that are not adequately represented or protected
elsewhere. While the Park Service provided five management alternatives
to protect these special places, they ultimately recommended that
Congress establish a national historic park that would include several
nationally significant sites.
In 2012, President Obama established the Cesar E. Chavez National
Monument. The property is in Keene, CA and is known as Nuestra Senora
Reina de la Paz. In his Presidential Proclamation, President Obama
said: ``This site marks the extraordinary achievements and
contributions to the history of the United States made by Cesar Chavez
and the farm worker movement that he led with great vision and
fortitude. La Paz reflects his conviction that ordinary people can do
extraordinary things.''
While this was a critical step forward, the National Monument leaves
out many nationally significant sites and leaves many important stories
untold. The creation of a national historical park, as originally
recommended by the Park Service, would allow the National Park Service
to tell the full story of Cesar Chavez and the farm labor movement for
the benefit of all Americans.
This legislation would establish the Forty Acres in Delano, CA; the
Cesar E. Chavez National Monument, which includes La Nuestra Senora
Reina de la Paz, in Keene, CA; and the Santa Rita Center in Phoenix,
AZ, as part of a new Cesar E. Chavez and Farmworker Movement National
Historical Park. These sites contain nationally significant resources
associated with Cesar Chavez and the farmworker movement and would be
preserved and protected as part of the National Park System.
This legislation would also establish a new National Historic Trail
that would commemorate the 1966 Delano to Sacramento March, a major
milestone event in the farm labor movement. According to the Special
Resource Study, ``More than one hundred men and women set out from
Delano on March 17, 1966, and thousands of farm workers and their
families joined in for short stretches along the way. By the time the
marchers entered Sacramento on Easter Sunday, April 10, 1966, the farm
worker movement had secured a contract and attracted new waves of
support from across the country.''
We must honor and celebrate the life and legacy of Cesar Chavez, the
inspirational civil rights advocate and leader of the farm labor
movement whose impact reverberated in California and across the world.
His list of accomplishments is long, from creating the Nation's first
permanent agricultural labor union to helping secure passage of the
first American law that recognized farm workers' rights to organize.
While widely respected as the most important Latino leader in the
United States in the 20th century, Cesar Chavez was not just a leader
for the Latino community. Following the principles of Mahatma Gandhi
and Martin Luther King, Jr., Cesar Chavez led a nonviolent movement of
protests and boycotts to secure a union, better pay, and better working
conditions for farmworkers. He also played a leading role in the
broader labor movement, the Chicano movement, and the environmental
movement. For Chavez, it did not matter where you came from or what
your job was: he believed in the fundamental right to dignity and
respect.
But this park will not just focus on Chavez's legacy; it will also
preserve the thousands of stories of people who played a role in the
broader farm labor movement. According to the Special Resource Study,
``During the 1960s, the farm labor movement attracted support from a
wide array of individuals, including members of other unions, religious
leaders, civil rights activists, high school students and college
students (including young Chicanos and Filipinos), environmentalists,
and justice-minded consumers across the country and abroad.''
As the son of immigrants from Mexico and the first Latino to
represent California in the U.S. Senate, I believe the movement Cesar
Chavez created is just as important today as it ever has been. The
National Park System--which preserves our natural, historical, and
cultural heritage while offering
[[Page S2896]]
vital spaces for teaching, learning, and outdoor recreation--must paint
the full mosaic of America. Through the sites preserved by this bill,
we can ensure that the National Park System preserves the diverse
history of our Nation that is too often overlooked. As a farm worker
himself, Cesar Chavez maintained a strong connection to the natural
environment. This bill uplifts his story and those of others whose
contributions helped build the farmworker and civil rights movements
that are pillars of American history.
I thank the bill's cosponsors in the Senate and House of
Representatives, and I especially want to thank Congressman Ruiz for
spearheading this effort with me to ensure that our national monuments
and historical parks better reflect the diversity of America's
heritage.
Today and every day, let's recommit to the work Cesar Chavez began.
As he would say: La Lucha Sigue. We must not waver as we keep up the
fight for justice and equality for all.
I look forward to working with my colleagues to enact the Cesar E.
Chavez National Historical Park Act as quickly as possible.
______