Cesar Chavez Day Cancellation is horrible move by UTEP
By Joe Olvera
I’m shocked and incensed that U.T. El Paso has canceled Cesar Chavez Day on March 31, because it’s too bulky. In other words, Cesar Chavez Day is one holiday too many for the university, so, what does this venerable institution of higher learning do? It cancels – for the next four years it says – a day which is special for Chicanos in El Paso and throughout the State of Texas, if not the nation.
What is even more alarming is the passive way in which our so-called Chicano leaders have accepted this travesty. Our leaders kinda-sorta agree with dropping this special day. One said that there’s just so many days that UTEP can free its students, and, obviously, Chavez is not important enough. Besides, there will be lectures and other “events” to celebrate the day, so, maybe it’s a good thing that the holiday is dropped because then students can show up for classes, and form a crowd. Why, the audacity!
Only Carlos Marentes, my good friend and director of El Paso’s farmworkers’ union, said what was on his mind. And, he was criticized by one local paper for saying what he thought about the ridiculous notion. He called it a huge disrespect, not only for Cesar Chavez, but, for Chicanos throughout El Paso, and, especially, for farmworkers themselves. Amazingly Martin Luther King Day, Jan. 17, almost suffered the same fate as Chavez when it was proposed in 1986 that the nation honor the late, great civil right leader. North Carolina Senator Jesse Helms – an avowed racist – said that MLK was not important enough to merit a national holiday. Even then- President Ronald Reagan, a Republican, complained about the cost.
Is there a Jesse Helms at UTEP? It’s a fair question isn’t it? Because Cesar Chavez is the only nationally-recognized icon or leader for us Chicanos, and, barely, at that. Is there anyone else? Not that I know of. So, where are the demonstrations, where are the walkouts, where are other followers of Chavez’s teachings? Why isn’t anyone speaking out against this action by UTEP”s faculty committee. Or, maybe they just don’t know Cesar?
Let me tell you a few things about this great man. When he took up arms against racist and unfair growers to protect his fellow farmworkers, Chavez had been a farmworker himself. In the winter, he worked the pear and the lettuce; in the spring, it was cherries and beans; corn and grapes occupied his time in the summer, while he worked the cotton in the fall. He knew what the complaints were all about. He knew that children were being forced to work the fields because their parents needed the help. Wages were the lowest of the low, and growers didn’t care as long as their crops came in.
Chavez himself went to work, dropping out of eighth grade to work the fields so that his mother wouldn’t have to. A self-made man, he joined the U.S. Navy where he served for two years. After that stint, he went back to the crop – a livelihood that had sustained him and his family after his father had lost his small grocery store and the piece of land they called home in Yuma, AZ.
As a farmworker, Chavez lived by the credo: “Make a solemn promise to enjoy our rightful part of the riches of this land, to throw off the yoke of being considered as agricultural implements or slaves. We are free men and we demand justice.”
When he and Dolores Huerta formed the United Farmworkers Organization, he offered farmworkers not only better wages and better working conditions, he also offered them dignity – a dignity that had been denied them; he offered them respect, and responsibility, something which they had never enjoyed before. The poor, the forgotten, the downtrodden flocked to him and his movement, a movement that took America by storm, a movement that drove even the mightiest Americans to his side, and the poorest.
Like Gandhi, Martin Luther King Jr., and Bobby Kennedy – from whom he borrowed teachings to promote the principle of non-violence, his body deteriorated from the hunger-strikes he originated. At one such fast, in 1968, he went 25 days without eating and without drinking. He fasted again in 1970, and, again, in 1972. His body faded fast, causing him to die an early death of so-called “natural causes.” Yeah, “natural causes.” He died so that the poor could live with dignity.
A lover of higher education, albeit, he dropped out from 8th grade, he encouraged his followers to leave the fields, to pursue a college degree. Many of them heeded his call and, today, many of his followers did accomplish their goals. He created an environment in which Chicanos could fight for their rights, not only in farm towns, but in cities and urban communities. His slogan: “Si Se Puede,” was even taken up by President Barack Obama in his clarion call towards winning the presidency.
Not recognize Cesar Chavez? Why, the very nerve. Okay, I’ve got a solution – instead of giving students at UTEP only 12 holidays, make it 13, but, never, ever deprive Cesar Chavez of his special day. After all, what’s one more holiday for UTEP? Honor this great man, who had an institution of higher learning named for him. The Colegio Cesar Chavez may not have lasted very long – a mere ten years - yet, he was instrumental and influential in that many young Chicanos, some of them even from UTEP, followed his advice and became teachers, engineers, directors of Chicano Studies programs, vice-presidents of universities, social workers, CEOs, and many other professions. All for a simple man who lived a simple, yet powerful life.
So, Yes, Virginia, there is a Cesar Chavez Day, and may it last forever. Oh, by the way – the good news is that, thanks to pressure from the community, the Faculty Committee decided to reinstate the holiday, so that students can stay home and really celebrate Cesar Chavez. I understand also that long-time activist and former UTEP instructor, Pete Duarte, gave back an award called a Gold Nugget because of the cancellation of Cesar Chavez Day. You see, he didn’t agree with it either. As usual, Pete was taken seriously. Way to go, carnal!
Sin Fin
© copyright 2011
