Chavez remembered at Peace Garden rally

Students, faculty and supporters gather to pay tribute to farm labor activist

By Elizabeth Lefall

Among red ribbon clad workers and red, white and green decorations, students and supporters gathered in Fresno State’s Peace Garden and Free Speech Area to remember the passion, fight and work accomplished by the late Cesar Chávez, Wednesday.

“ My grandfather was a common man with an uncommon vision,” Natalie R. Hernandez said.

“ One thing he felt very strongly about was that by giving of our own life we could bind other lives.” she said. “Those words are to be remembered.”

Hernandez, 21, a student at California State University Bakersfield, said it’s important to carry on the message of her grandfather.

“ My focus is on education. My grandfather couldn’t go farther than his 8th grade education but he made a difference. I’m encouraging young people today to continue their education so they can use their knowledge in the struggle for equality. My grandfather always said, ‘Si se puede,’ it can be done.”

Sudarshan Kapoor, a professor of social work at Fresno State, said Chávez’s contributions mirrored many of yet another well-known symbol of peace, Mahatmas Gandhi.

“ Chávez’s life depicts the words of Gandhi, ‘you must be the change you want to see in the world,’” Kapoor said.

Festivities included Fresno State dancers of the Ballet Folklorico Danzantes de Aztlán, a mariachi band and a presentation of garlands and red carnations placed at the Chávez statue in the Peace Garden.

Students lined up to honor the late farm leader by placing flowers at the base of the stone statue.

“ Chávez represents my family. I myself was a farm worker for three years, helping my parents economically. There are those that are still being mistreated because Chávez’s struggle is not over,” said Maribel Moreno, a senior majoring in Spanish.

Freddy Gonzalez, a freshman majoring in Business Administration, said the event was a “good way to express our love and recognition of Chávez.”

Hernandez closed by saying, “Though he walked among presidents and popes, he [Chávez] thought of himself always as a simple farm worker.”

The Fresno State campus was closed in observance of Cesar E. Chávez day, now a state holiday. On March 31, Chávez would have turned 77 years old.