A Tribute Through Labor
Today is Cesar Chavez Day and I’m celebrating it by working from home. Last week my boss came in and told us that the office would be closed for today and that we could take the day off or work from home. Seeing as it wouldn’t be a paid holiday, three out of my four co-workers mentioned they would be working just as I would.
One of them made a comment that working on the day is actually more of a tribute to Chavez since he fought for the right to work. I was a little disappointed to hear that my co-worker didn’t really understand what Chavez, who is probably the greatest Latino leader in US history, was about. But at least she didn’t think he was a boxer. A few years ago there was a school in Northern California that was going to change its name to honor Cesar Chavez. Some of the parents protested that the school shouldn’t be named in honor of a boxer. They had confused Cesar Chavez with the legendary boxer Julio Cesar Chavez.
What Cesar Chavez actually fought for was the right for migrant farm workers to work in the agricultural industry in California under better and less exploitive conditions. He launched a union movement and a boycott of California grape growers that included personal fasts similar to those of Mahatma Gandhi to draw attention to his cause.
I consider Chavez an amazing man who did a great deal of good. But I confess that I find it odd that the greatest leader in the history of this country’s Latino community was basically a union organizer. What’s even more disappointing is that no other Latino has emerged to lead the Latino community past all the issues that plague it such as gang violence, poverty, high school drop out rates, and the anti-immigrant backlash that seems to be growing in this country.
To make things worse, when Latino leaders do emerge, they seem to invariably do something to besmirch their image, such as Los Angeles mayor Antonio Villaraigosa. Pundits were predicting that Villaraigosa might one day become the governor of California. Then it was revealed that he was having an affair with a television reporter. At least he didn’t have to pay for his extracurricular activities unlike former New York governor Elliot Spitzer. While Villaraigosa is still in office, his political prospects don’t appear as promising as they once did. Villaraigosa is following well in the footsteps of another disgraced Latino public servant, Henry Cisneros.
Cisneros was the former mayor of San Antonio and appointed by President Bill Clinton to be Secretary of Housing and Urban Development. He was forced to resign when it was revealed that he had lied to FBI investigators regarding payments he had made to a former mistress.
At least there’s still Bill Richardson. Richardson is the governor of New Mexico and a former presidential candidate. He was also the US Ambassador to the United Nations and the Secretary of Energy. Richardson would appear a terrific potential leader for the Latino community. The only problem is his name. How many Latinos do you know named Richardson, or even Bill. Hell, it was years before I found out that he was Latino.
So for now I’ll continue to celebrate Cesar Chavez as the greatest Latino leader in US history and I’ll honor his memory by working. But I’ll continue to hope that one day a Latino leader, along the lines of a Martin Luther King, Jr. or Malcolm X, will appear to guide the Latino community past all the problems that plague it.
One of them made a comment that working on the day is actually more of a tribute to Chavez since he fought for the right to work. I was a little disappointed to hear that my co-worker didn’t really understand what Chavez, who is probably the greatest Latino leader in US history, was about. But at least she didn’t think he was a boxer. A few years ago there was a school in Northern California that was going to change its name to honor Cesar Chavez. Some of the parents protested that the school shouldn’t be named in honor of a boxer. They had confused Cesar Chavez with the legendary boxer Julio Cesar Chavez.
What Cesar Chavez actually fought for was the right for migrant farm workers to work in the agricultural industry in California under better and less exploitive conditions. He launched a union movement and a boycott of California grape growers that included personal fasts similar to those of Mahatma Gandhi to draw attention to his cause.
I consider Chavez an amazing man who did a great deal of good. But I confess that I find it odd that the greatest leader in the history of this country’s Latino community was basically a union organizer. What’s even more disappointing is that no other Latino has emerged to lead the Latino community past all the issues that plague it such as gang violence, poverty, high school drop out rates, and the anti-immigrant backlash that seems to be growing in this country.
To make things worse, when Latino leaders do emerge, they seem to invariably do something to besmirch their image, such as Los Angeles mayor Antonio Villaraigosa. Pundits were predicting that Villaraigosa might one day become the governor of California. Then it was revealed that he was having an affair with a television reporter. At least he didn’t have to pay for his extracurricular activities unlike former New York governor Elliot Spitzer. While Villaraigosa is still in office, his political prospects don’t appear as promising as they once did. Villaraigosa is following well in the footsteps of another disgraced Latino public servant, Henry Cisneros.
Cisneros was the former mayor of San Antonio and appointed by President Bill Clinton to be Secretary of Housing and Urban Development. He was forced to resign when it was revealed that he had lied to FBI investigators regarding payments he had made to a former mistress.
At least there’s still Bill Richardson. Richardson is the governor of New Mexico and a former presidential candidate. He was also the US Ambassador to the United Nations and the Secretary of Energy. Richardson would appear a terrific potential leader for the Latino community. The only problem is his name. How many Latinos do you know named Richardson, or even Bill. Hell, it was years before I found out that he was Latino.
So for now I’ll continue to celebrate Cesar Chavez as the greatest Latino leader in US history and I’ll honor his memory by working. But I’ll continue to hope that one day a Latino leader, along the lines of a Martin Luther King, Jr. or Malcolm X, will appear to guide the Latino community past all the problems that plague it.
posted by The Pocho at 11:31 AM
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