Madam President, I rise to reintroduce the Cesar E. Chavez and the Farmworker Movement National Historical Park Act. This Friday, March 31, we celebrate Cesar Chavez Day to honor and celebrate the…
Madam President, I rise to reintroduce the Cesar E. Chavez and the Farmworker Movement National Historical Park Act.
This Friday, March 31, we celebrate Cesar Chavez Day to honor and celebrate the life and legacy of the civil rights and labor leader whose impact reverberated throughout California and across the world. For Cesar Chavez, it did not matter where you came from or what your job was, he believed in your fundamental right to dignity and respect.
Ahead of Cesar Chavez Day, I introduce this legislation, which would establish the Cesar E. Chavez and the Farmworker Movement National Historical Park in California and Arizona to preserve the nationally significant sites associated with Cesar Chavez and the farmworker movement.
In 2008, with strong bipartisan support, Congress enacted legislation directing the National Park Service to conduct a special resource study of sites that are significant to the life of Cesar Chavez and the farm labor movement in the Western United States. The National Park Service evaluated over 100 sites and found that five sites were ``nationally significant.'' Importantly, the Park Service wrote that these nationally significant sites depict a distinct and important aspect of American history associated with civil rights and labor movements that are not adequately represented or protected elsewhere. While the Park Service provided five management alternatives to protect these special places, they ultimately recommended that Congress establish a national historic park that would include several nationally significant sites.
In 2012, President Obama established the Cesar E. Chavez National Monument. The property is in Keene, CA, and is known as Nuestra Senora Reina de la Paz. In his Presidential Proclamation, President Obama said: ``This site marks the extraordinary achievements and contributions to the history of the United States made by Cesar Chavez and the farm worker movement that he led with great vision and fortitude. La Paz reflects his conviction that ordinary people can do extraordinary things.''
While this was a critical step forward, the National Monument leaves out many nationally significant sites and leaves many important stories untold. The creation of a national historical park, as originally recommended by the Park Service, would allow the National Park Service to tell the full story of Cesar Chavez and the farm labor movement for the benefit of all Americans.
In addition to the inclusion of the existing Cesar E. Chavez National Monument, which includes La Nuestra Senora Reina de la Paz, in Keene, CA, the National Park Service would be able to add additional sites to the park upon written agreement from site owners. These sites include the Forty Acres in Delano, CA, the Santa Rita Center in Phoenix, AZ; and McDonnell Hall, in San Jose, CA. These sites contain nationally significant resources associated with Cesar Chavez and the farmworker movement and would be preserved and protected as part of the National Park System.
This legislation would also require the National Park Service to complete a national historic trail study to determine the feasibility of creating the Farmworker Peregrinacion National Historic Trail. This trail would commemorate the 1966 Delano to Sacramento March, a major milestone event in the farm labor movement. According to the Special Resource Study, ``More than one hundred men and women set out from Delano on March 17, 1966, and thousands of farm workers and their families joined in for short stretches along the way. By the time the marchers entered Sacramento on Easter Sunday, April 10, 1966, the farm worker movement had secured a contract and attracted new waves of support from across the country.''
We must honor and celebrate the life and legacy of Cesar Chavez, the inspirational civil rights advocate and leader of the farm labor movement whose impact reverberated in California and across the world. His list of accomplishments is long, from creating the Nation's first permanent agricultural labor union to helping secure passage of the first American law that recognized farmworkers' rights to organize.
While widely respected as the most important Latino leader in the United States in the 20th century, Cesar Chavez was not just a leader for the Latino community. Following the principles of Mahatma Gandhi and Martin Luther King, Jr., Cesar Chavez led a nonviolent movement of protests and boycotts to secure a union, better pay, and better working conditions for farmworkers of all ethnicities. He also played a leading role in the broader labor movement, the Chicano movement, and the environmental movement.
But this park will not just focus on Chavez's legacy; it will also preserve
the thousands of stories of people who played a role in the broader farm labor movement. According to the special resource study, ``During the 1960s, the farm labor movement attracted support from a wide array of individuals, including members of other unions, religious leaders, civil rights activists, high school students and college students (including young Chicanos and Filipinos), environmentalists, and justice-minded consumers across the country and abroad.''
As the son of immigrants from Mexico and the first Latino to represent California in the U.S. Senate, I believe the movement Cesar Chavez created is just as important today as it ever has been. The National Park System--which preserves our natural, historical, and cultural heritage while offering vital spaces for teaching, learning, and outdoor recreation-must paint the full mosaic of America. Through the sites preserved by this bill, we can ensure that the National Park System preserves the diverse history of our Nation that is too often overlooked. As a farmworker himself, Cesar Chavez maintained a strong connection to the natural environment. This bill uplifts his story and those of others whose contributions helped build the farmworker and civil rights movements that are pillars of American history.
I thank the bill's cosponsors in the Senate and House of Representatives, and I especially want to thank Congressman Ruiz for spearheading this effort with me to ensure that our national monuments and historical parks better reflect the diversity of America's heritage.
Today and every day, let's recommit to the work Cesar Chavez began. As he would say: La Lucha Sigue. We must not waver as we keep up the fight for justice and equality for all.
I look forward to working with my colleagues to enact the Cesar E. Chavez National Historical Park Act as quickly as possible.
