[Congressional Record Volume 168, Number 125 (Wednesday, July 27, 2022)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E787]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]





                         HONORING JUAN MARTINEZ

                                 ______
                                 

                           HON. JIMMY PANETTA

                             of california

                    in the house of representatives

                        Wednesday, July 27, 2022

  Mr. PANETTA. Madam Speaker, I rise today to celebrate the life of 
Juan Martinez, a local hero, an influential Chicano activist, and 
invaluable community archivist. After a year-long battle with cancer, 
Mr. Martinez passed away, and leaves behind a legacy of storytelling.
  The son of a World War II veteran, Juan Martinez was born and raised 
in the City of Gonzalez. Be attended Gonzalez High School, where he 
played football and became active in the Farmworkers' Movement.
  As an 18-year-old high school student, Mr. Martinez stood with United 
Farm Workers and Cesar Chavez when he spent 20 days in jail in Salinas 
in 1970 for refusing to call off a lettuce boycott. Mr. Martinez was 
among some 2,000 supporters who marched with Chavez to turn himself in 
at the jail, and Juan Martinez joined the group as a bodyguard to 
protect Mr. Chavez. This experience fueled Mr. Martinez's passion to 
support the Farmworkers' Movement and marginalized communities.
  He later became a champion of the preservation of the Farmworkers' 
Movement and its history in Salinas and on the central coast of 
California. He fought tirelessly to transform the old Monterey County 
into a Cesar Chavez Museum and was instrumental in having it designated 
on the National Register of Historic Places. He also kept a personal 
collection of photographs, testimonies and artifacts related to the 
movement, ensuring that this important part of our history is never 
lost. He also organized the installation of signage on Highway 101, 
designating part of it as ``Bracero Memorial Highway'' to honor 32 
seasonal farmworkers who died in a truck crash in Chualar in 1963.
  Additionally, he served the Central Coast as a community worker with 
California Rural Legal Assistance, assisting historically disadvantaged 
communities. Mr. Martinez also served on the Hartnell College Board of 
Trustees from 1979 to 1991 and was a co-founder of the Monterey County 
Pesticide Coalition. The coalition fought to establish the first field 
posting ordinance in Monterey County in 1983 that would become a model 
for statewide legislation.
  Madam Speaker, Juan Martinez's commitment to service will continue to 
protect and impact Californians for generations to come. Let us always 
remember his legacy of service and honor his commitment to the Central 
Coast and its storied history.

                          ____________________