[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 153 (2007), Part 6]
[Senate]
[Page 8405]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                        REMEMBERING CESAR CHAVEZ

  Mr. DURBIN. A great man once said, ``We cannot seek achievement for 
ourselves and forget about progress and prosperity for our community . 
. . Our ambitions must be broad enough to include the aspirations and 
needs of others, for their sakes and for our own.''
  Those are the words of Cesar Chavez.
  His friend, Robert Kennedy, once called Cesar Chavez ``one of the 
heroic figures of our time.''
  He was a man of uncommon moral courage, a disciple of nonviolence who 
believed deeply in the promise of American democracy. He sacrificed 
much to extend that promise to some of the poorest people in America: 
farm workers.
  ``Yes, we can.'' That was Cesar Chavez's message to people who had 
felt powerless against the crushing hand of fate. Yes, we can make a 
better life for ourselves and our children. Yes, we can overcome 
injustice, without resorting to violence.
  His words and his work inspired not only the Latino farmworkers with 
whom he lived but all Americans.
  This coming Saturday, March 31, would have been Cesar Chavez's 80th 
birthday. In California, where his birthday is a legal holiday, and in 
homes and communities throughout our Nation, Americans will pause over 
the next few days to remember and celebrate the life and legacy of this 
great man.
  Cesar Chavez was the founder of the United Farm Workers Union, a 
labor and civil rights leader. He established the first collective 
bargaining agreement between farmworkers and growers in the United 
States. That agreement allowed farmworkers to negotiate for safer and 
better working conditions--for such simple, basic human needs such as 
the right to a drink of clean water after hours working in a hot field.
  In 1993, at the age of 66, Cesar Chavez died--his great heart 
weakened by the many fasts he had conducted to call attention to the 
plight of farmworkers. But his legacy lives on.
  In a time when our Nation is at war and the income and equality gaps 
are again widening in America, we would do well to remember the lessons 
of peace and social justice from the life of Cesar Chavez.
  There is no better way to promote his legacy than to continue these 
teachings in our communities and especially among our young people.
  In my State of Illinois, schools set aside 1 day in the month of 
March as ``Cesar Chavez Day of Service and Learning.'' It is an idea 
that was introduced by our Lieutenant Governor, Pat Quinn, in 2004. 
Students in kindergarten through high school learn about Cesar Chavez's 
life and beliefs in the classroom, and they also learn about his ethic 
of service and social responsibility by participating in community 
service projects.
  Here in Congress, as we debate the war, the Federal budget, and other 
matters that affect the lives of so many people so profoundly, perhaps 
we should have our own Cesar Chavez Day of Service and Learning.
  We would do well to remember his challenge: ``We cannot seek 
achievement for ourselves and forget about progress and prosperity for 
our community . . . Our ambitions must be broad enough to include the 
aspirations and needs of others, for their sakes and for our own.''
  Can we make America better, more just--a more perfect union? In the 
words of Cesar Chavez, ``Yes, we can.'' It is not easy, but it can be 
done. And it is up to each of us to try.
  Mr. REID. Mr. President, I suggest the absence of a quorum.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The clerk will call the roll.
  The legislative clerk proceeded to call the roll.
  Mr. REID. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the order for 
the quorum call be rescinded.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.

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