The White House
Office of the Press Secretary
For Immediate Release
March 29, 2013
Presidential Proclamation -- Cesar Chavez Day
CESAR CHAVEZ DAY, 2013
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BY THE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
A PROCLAMATION
Every year, Americans all across our country pause on March 31 to
remember a man who made justice his life's calling. Growing up the son
of migrant farm workers who lost everything in the Great Depression,
Cesar Chavez knew hard work and hardship from an early age. He labored
long hours for little pay, taking odd jobs to help his family get by and
forgoing a formal education to follow the crop cycles. But where others
might have given up or given in, Cesar Chavez never lost hope in the
power of opportunity. He lived each day by a belief as old as America
itself -- the idea that with courage and determination, any of us can
reach beyond our circumstances and leave our children something better.
More than anything, we remember Cesar Chavez for lending voice to the
voiceless. When no one seemed to care about the invisible farm workers
who picked our Nation's food, beset by poverty and cheated by growers, a
courageous man dedicated to dignity stood up and spoke out. Alongside
Dolores Huerta and fellow organizers, he rallied a generation of workers
around "La Causa," marching and fasting and boycotting for fair pay and
protections on the job. They fought through decades of setbacks and
fierce resistance. But through every trial, Cesar Chavez refused to curb
his ambitions or scale back his hope. Step by step, march by march, he
helped lead a community of farm workers to make the change they sought.
Cesar Chavez's legacy lives on at Nuestra Señora Reina de la Paz, his
home and workplace, which I was proud to designate a National Monument
last October. It also lives on in those who remember his central
teaching: that when workers are treated fairly and humanely, our country
grows more just, opportunity becomes more equal, and all of us do
better. Because even with the strides we have made, we know there is
more left to do when working men and women toil in poverty without
adequate protections or simple respect. We know there is more to do when
our broken immigration system forces workers into a shadow economy
where companies can ignore labor laws and undermine businesses following
the rules. Fixing those problems means securing what Cesar Chavez
fought for at La Paz. It means taking on injustice, making sure hard
work is rewarded, and bringing more Americans into a rising middle
class.
In 1966, when Cesar Chavez was struggling to bring attention to his
cause, he received a telegram from Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. "As
brothers in the fight for equality, I extend the hand of fellowship and
goodwill," he wrote. "We are with you in spirit and in determination
that our dreams for a better tomorrow will be realized." It is a story
that reminds us how here in America, we are bound together not by the
colors of our skin or the languages we speak, but by the values we share
and the brighter future we seek for our children. So today, as we honor
a man who risked everything to stand up for what he believed in, let us
reflect on our common cause and recommit to moving forward together --
as one Nation and one people.
NOW, THEREFORE, I, BARACK OBAMA, President of the United States of
America, by virtue of the authority vested in me by the Constitution and
the laws of the United States, do hereby proclaim March 31, 2013, as
Cesar Chavez Day. I call upon all Americans to observe this day with
appropriate service, community, and education programs to honor Cesar
Chavez's enduring legacy.
IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand this
twenty-ninth day of March, in the year of our Lord two thousand
thirteen, and of the Independence of the United States of America the
two hundred and thirty-seventh.
BARACK OBAMA
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