Sacramento State students, staff and faculty will observe the legacy of one of this nation’s most well-known community organizers on Cesar Chavez Day, Friday, March 20.
Chavez was a farmworker who led the fight for migrant workers’ rights. He co-founded the labor organization that eventually became the United Farm Workers.
“The objective of the event is to instill in students the desire to work toward social justice and the prosperity of the community,” says Maribel Rosendo-Servin, Associated Students Inc., chief of staff. “We want to create awareness of the current struggles and injustices of farmworkers and to apply Cesar Chavez’s legacy to use educational achievement for the betterment of the community.”
The day will begin with a musical and dance performance by Danza Azteca, followed by a showing of the documentary: The Fight in the Fields: Cesar Chavez and the Farmworkers’ Struggle. The two keynote speakers are Xico González, community artist and activist and Sacramento State professor; and Juanita Ontiveros, California Rural Legal Assistance Foundation and chair for the Cesar E. Chavez Northern California Foundation.
From 10 a.m. to 1 p.m., students will be placed in work groups to spend the day at a site helping the community.
“The students will be doing a variety of projects depending on the sites they are assigned,” says Rosendo-Servin. “Projects include preparing and serving the food at shelters, teaching the legacy of Cesar Chavez to elementary and middle school students and helping clean facilities.”
The day’s events wrap up at Sacramento State's Aquatic Center with a luncheon barbeque. Students and helpers may use the Aquatic Center’s canoes and kayaks from 1:30 to 4 p.m.
