[Federal Register Volume 79, Number 64 (Thursday, April 3, 2014)]
[Presidential Documents]
[Pages 18763-18764]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2014-07644]



[[Page 18761]]

Vol. 79

Thursday,

No. 64

April 3, 2014

Part II





The President





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Proclamation 9092--Cesar Chavez Day, 2014
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  Federal Register / Vol. 79 , No. 64 / Thursday, April 3, 2014 / 
Presidential Documents  

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 Title 3--
 The President

[[Page 18763]]

                Proclamation 9092 of March 28, 2014

                
Cesar Chavez Day, 2014

                By the President of the United States of America

                A Proclamation

                On Cesar Chavez Day, we celebrate one of America's 
                greatest champions for social justice. Raised into the 
                life of a migrant farm worker, he toiled alongside men, 
                women, and children who performed daily, backbreaking 
                labor for meager pay and in deplorable conditions. They 
                were exposed to dangerous pesticides and denied the 
                most basic protections, including minimum wages, health 
                care, and access to drinking water. Cesar Chavez 
                devoted his life to correcting these injustices, to 
                reminding us that every job has dignity, every life has 
                value, and everyone--no matter who you are, what you 
                look like, or where you come from--should have the 
                chance to get ahead.

                After returning from naval service during World War II, 
                Cesar Chavez fought for freedom in American 
                agricultural fields. Alongside Dolores Huerta, he 
                founded the United Farm Workers, and through decades of 
                tireless organizing, even in the face of intractable 
                opposition, he grew a movement to advance ``La Causa'' 
                across the country. In 1966, he led a march that began 
                in Delano, California, with a handful of activists and 
                ended in Sacramento with a crowd 10,000 strong. A grape 
                boycott eventually drew 17 million supporters 
                nationwide, forcing growers to accept some of the first 
                farm worker contracts in history. A generation of 
                organizers rose to carry that legacy forward.

                The values Cesar Chavez lived by guide us still. As we 
                push to fix a broken immigration system, protect the 
                right to unionize, advance social justice for young men 
                of color, and build ladders of opportunity for every 
                American to climb, we recall his resilience through 
                setbacks, his refusal to scale back his dreams. When we 
                organize against income inequality and fight to raise 
                the minimum wage--because no one who works full time 
                should have to live in poverty--we draw strength from 
                his vision and example.

                Throughout his lifelong struggle, Cesar Chavez never 
                forgot who he was fighting for. ``What [the growers] 
                don't know,'' he said, ``is that it's not bananas or 
                grapes or lettuce. It's people.'' Today, let us honor 
                Cesar Chavez and those who marched with him by meeting 
                our obligations to one another. I encourage Americans 
                to make this a national day of service and education by 
                speaking out, organizing, and participating in service 
                projects to improve lives in their communities. Let us 
                remember that when we lift each other up, when we speak 
                with one voice, we have the power to build a better 
                world.

                NOW, THEREFORE, I, BARACK OBAMA, President of the 
                United States of America, by virtue of the authority 
                vested in me by the Constitution and the laws of the 
                United States, do hereby proclaim March 31, 2014, as 
                Cesar Chavez Day. I call upon all Americans to observe 
                this day with appropriate service, community, and 
                education programs to honor Cesar Chavez's enduring 
                legacy.

[[Page 18764]]

                IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand this 
                twenty-eighth day of March, in the year of our Lord two 
                thousand fourteen, and of the Independence of the 
                United States of America the two hundred and thirty-
                eighth.
                
                
                    (Presidential Sig.)

[FR Doc. 2014-07644
Filed 4-2-14; 11:15 am]
Billing code 3295-F4