2022 -- H 8069

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LC005700

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     STATE OF RHODE ISLAND

IN GENERAL ASSEMBLY

JANUARY SESSION, A.D. 2022

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H O U S E   R E S O L U T I O N

HONORING CESAR CHAVEZ DAY IN RHODE ISLAND

     Introduced By: Representatives Morales, Batista, Diaz, Alzate, Williams, Perez, Felix,
Tanzi, Shekarchi, and Blazejewski

     Date Introduced: March 31, 2022

     Referred To: House read and passed

     WHEREAS, Cesar Chavez Day is a United States federal commemorative holiday,

proclaimed by President Barack Obama in 2014. This holiday is held annually on March 31, and

celebrates the birth and incredible legacy of Cesar Chavez as both a civil rights and labor

movement activist; and

     WHEREAS, Cesar Chavez was born on March 31, 1927, in Yuma Arizona. At the age of

ten, he began living in migrant labor camps in Arizona and California, joining the thousands of

migrant workers laboring in the fields and vineyards throughout the southwestern United States;

and

     WHEREAS, As a result of his need to work and help support his family, Cesar Chavez

attended more than thirty elementary and middle schools and was only able to attain an 8th grade

education; and

     WHEREAS, Cesar Chavez enlisted in the United States Navy in 1944 at the age of

seventeen and served our nation with honor and distinction for two years before receiving an

honorable discharge in 1946; and

     WHEREAS, After returning from military service, Mr. Chavez met Helen Fabela, whom

he married and together they had eight children; and

     WHEREAS, After World War II, Mr. Chavez became active in the labor movement and

began his tireless campaign to organize farm workers in order to secure safe working conditions,

decent housing, reasonable wages, and the outlawing of child labor; and

     WHEREAS, In 1953, Mr. Chavez joined the Community Service Organization, a

prominent Latino civil rights organization, and worked with them to coordinate voter registration

drives and fight against discrimination in Los Angeles. He later served as the National Director of

the Community Service Organization; and

     WHEREAS, In 1962, Mr. Chavez established the National Farm Workers Association,

which later became the United Farm Workers of America. Under his leadership, the United Farm

Workers of America organized thousands of migrant farm workers to fight for the basic human

rights all people deserve; and

     WHEREAS, Mr. Chavez was also a strong supporter of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr, and

the principles of nonviolence practiced by Dr. King and Mahatma Gandhi. Examples of Mr.

Chavez using peaceful tactics to promote important causes include his 25 days of fasting in 1968

and 1972, and his 38 days of fasting in 1988 to bring attention to the American people and the

world, of the awful living conditions for farm workers in the United States; and

     WHEREAS, Cesar Chavez is an American hero and an inspiration to everyone who

values the basic American ideals of justice, equality and freedom. Thanks to his incredible

character, tireless work ethic, and dedication to the principles of equality and economic justice,

Mr. Chavez was able to forge an incredibly diverse and large national coalition of students,

middle-class consumers, trade unionists, religious groups, women, and minorities, all in support

of these important principles and ideals; now, therefore be it

     RESOLVED, That this House of Representatives of the State of Rhode Island hereby

honors Cesar Chavez Day in Rhode Island; and be it further

     RESOLVED, That the Secretary of State be and hereby is authorized and directed to

transmit duly certified copies of this resolution to the AFL-CIO of Rhode Island, Progresso

Latino, and the Latino Progress Institute.

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