WHAT: César E. Chávez March, Celebration and Healthcare Fair
WHEN: Saturday, March 26, 2016
WHERE: 11:00 am – Noon Rally & March (rain or shine) from Pittsburg City Hall, 65 Civic Drive to the Celebration and Healthcare Fair at Marina Vista Elementary School, 50 East Eight Street, Pittsburg.
WHY: Cesar was a fighter for social justice with a simple creed. Si se puede! – Is, in three words, an entire philosophy for achieving the impossible, that out of many, we are one. César knew that when you lift up one person, it enriches a community; it bolsters our economy, strengthens our Nation, and gives meaning to the creed that out of many, we are one.
As we celebrate his life, we are reminded of our obligations to one another and the extraordinary opportunity we are each given to work toward justice, equal opportunity, and a better future for every one of our sisters and brothers.
Raised in the fields of Arizona and California. César believed every job has dignity and every person should have the chance to reach beyond his or her circumstances and realize a brighter future.
When no one seemed to care about the farm workers who labored without basic protections and for meager pay to help feed the world, César Chávez awakened our Nation to their deplorable conditions and abject poverty – injustices he knew firsthand.
He organized, protested, fasted, and alongside other organizers, founded the United Farm Workers.
Slowly, he grew a small movement to a 10,000-person march and eventually a 17-million-strong boycott of table grapes, rallying a generation around “La Causa” and forcing growers to agree to some of the first farm worker contracts in history.
Guided by a fierce commitment to nonviolence in support of a righteous cause, he never lost faith in the power of opportunity for all.
Cesar’s legacy is alive in the protests and rallies of the Dreamers – the young, undocumented immigrants whose families brought them to the United States and who are fighting to make a future for themselves in the only country that they have ever known. His legacy endures for Hispanics who are breaking barriers every day, rising in the world of politics, succeeding in business and making names for themselves in the arts. Future generations need to remember Cesar on the day we elect the first Hispanic president of the United States.
The Keynote Speaker will be Iliana Perez, DACAmented Doctoral Student with a M.A. in Economics. Perez was born in Hidalgo, Mexico and immigrated alongside her mother, father and younger brother to the U.S. at the age of eight. Iliana grew up in Turlock, CA and navigated the
educational system as an undocumented student for 18 years until she became a DACA recipient in 2013; her parents remain undocumented with no immigration remedy due to unjust immigration policies.
Iliana attended CSU-Fresno on a full-ride scholarship through the Smittcamp Family Honor’s Program, where she graduated from in 2009 with a degree in Mathematics and a minor in Economics. Iliana recently finished a M.A. in Economics from Claremont Graduate University and is completing a Ph.D. in Education Policy, Evaluation and Reform. Her research focuses on the occupational and educational attainment of immigrant students, the effects of deportation on the lives of young adults and economics of immigration. Iliana has shared her story and presented her work to various audiences across the country via keynotes and research presentations at professional conferences, organizations and college campuses.
Her personal story, as well as her work have been featured in several media outlets including LA Times, Business Insider, CNN, CNNE, The Huffington Post, Univision, La Opinion, Radio Bilingue and various other journals, blogs and newspapers around the world. Iliana plans to use her knowledge and research skills to help inform education and immigration policies in the U.S. and abroad.
ENTERTAINMENT: Ballet Folklorico from Pittsburg High School, Ritmo Mexicano (“quebradita” dance group) from Pittsburg High School and Spoken Word. After main celebration we will have a “Fiesta” with Alex Moreno Band, Andrés Soto and the Bay Breeze Band, Pinatas, Food, healthcare providers and nonprofit booths.
FREE TO ALL
EVENT SPONSORS: Mt Diablo Recycling, Federal Glover, Mechanics Bank – Pittsburg Branch, City of Pittsburg and Pittsburg Unified School District.
For more information visit www.pittsburgcesarchavez.org.
