It was the typical stage of Hollywood activism: well-known figures, sharp talking points and an issue without much controversy.
Last week, a campaign kicked off with Latino celebrities Carlos Santana, Martin Sheen and Edward James Olmos joining local politicians and union leaders in a call for the César E. Chávez National Holiday. Seeking to elevate the late leader of the farm working movement to a national hero, they claimed that such recognition would epitomize Latino achievement.
With all due respect to Chávez, his followers seem to be forgetting that his cause is larger than his persona. And in attempting to anoint him the mythical figure of all Latinos, they fail to bring attention to the problems of the present.
The superlative-fest of a press conference lacked questions about whether Chávez deserves recognition. Chávez led the farmworker movement through marches and hunger strikes and brought the previously voiceless group to political relevance. The resilience of the organization he founded, the United Farm Workers, yielded tangible results such as the 1975 California Agricultural Labor Relations Law. While such achievements are undeniable, a national holiday is an overstatement.
Currently, César Chávez Day is celebrated as a public holiday in eight states, including California. Most are Southwestern states, but surprising outliers such as Wisconsin and Michigan also honor his birthday. Now, a nonbinding resolution ““ the political equivalent of a pretty please with a cherry on top ““ seeks the establishment of Chávez’s March 31st birthday as a national holiday.
Congressman Joe Baca, D-Rialto, introduced that resolution, labeled H.R. 127. “When I moved to D.C., a lot of people I spoke with had never even heard of César Chávez,” Baca narrates in a press release. “This reaffirmed my belief that there should be a national holiday honoring the life and work of César Chávez.”
With that reasoning, many leaders from underrepresented groups ““ from Geronimo and Rosa Parks to Susan B. Anthony and Philip Vera Cruz ““ should gain the homage they deserve through a day of national recognition, even if most people do not recognize them.
Marching through national media outlets proclaiming the undoubtedly great spirit of César Chávez faces one obstructive problem: The American public, with an attention span built for Paris and Britney, doesn’t know who Chávez was.
And the truth is, like any of us, Chávez was far from perfect. Despite the ongoing attempts at iconization of Chávez as the champion of all migrant workers and all Latinos, history points out that Chávez marched along the border to fight illegal immigration and controlled political turmoil inside his union by forcing people out.
While paying our homage, we must not sin by glorifying those who, despite all their dedication and achievements, still remain as human as the rest of us.
Critics of the legacy that followed him, such as the non-partisan ethics watchdog National Legal and Policy Center, denounce his union for using the memory of Chávez, for shaping him as “more than a legend; he’s a marketing device.” While the UFW fights off accusations of political elitism, the need for solid farmworkers’ advocacy remains.
For those of us who have at least one bit of farm worker in our heritage, the struggle of the UFW and other union movements reflects a period of recognition that needs to resurface. According to a report by the California Institute for Rural Studies titled “A Workforce Action Plan for Farm Labor in California: Towards a More Sustainable Food System,” the biggest obstacle in representation is that the majority of current farm workers have no legal status and no political clout.
This reality validates the claim that before rushing on a history lesson about a single person, political players should focus on improving current conditions for the farming class.
Putting the César Chávez rubber stamp on everything related to the Latino struggle puts the imagery at risk of becoming an old cliche, like the Che Guevara T-shirt and the “What Would Jesus Do?” armband.
For progressive movements, it’s an instinctual action. At some point, the cause becomes distant because the focus is on those anointed with carrying the torch, rather than staying grounded and focusing on the struggle of the underprivileged.
The truth is, the leaders we need always tell us what to do. As a wise man said: “We cannot seek achievement for ourselves and forget about progress and prosperity for our community.”
That man, of course, was César Chávez.
Do the farm worker unity clap with Ramos at mramos@media.ucla.edu. Send general comments to viewpoint@media.ucla.edu.