Salinas honors Cesar Chavez’s legacy
SALINAS, Calif. (KION) On what would have been the 94th birthday of American Civil Rights Leader Cesar Chavez, local advocates and community members take the day to reflect the times they stood side by side with him.
Chavez's ties to the Central Coast include advocating with current County leaders and leading marches in Salinas and Watsonville as he fought for better farm worker conditions and rights.
On this March 31st, Sabino Lopez Figueroa with Center for Community Advocacy says he took the day to reflect on the times he stood side by side with Cesar Chavez in his movements.
“In 1968, we were working on the fields, I recall we were making one dollar
and five cents per hour and working twelve to fourteen hours per day, seven days a week, so many challenges we faced in those years," says Figueroa.
Figueroa says he was only seventeen years old and in the fields of Salinas when he began hearing about a man who was gaining local and national attention as he used his voice to fight for better pay and conditions for struggling farm workers.
“They said his name is Cesar Chavez, man, when I heard his name I said hey, bring in this guy because I want him to come and I want to join the
movement," says Figueroa.
Chavez went on to lead some of the most memorable demonstrations and marches in history, including in cities like Salinas and Watsonville.
The former Monterey County Jail on Alisal Street in Salinas is the very place where Chavez was jailed back in December of 1970 the one time in his life following his movements. Local leaders say it was then that many people came together to make sure he was freed.
“Ethel Kennedy, the widow of Robert Kennedy and Coretta Scott King, the
widow of Martin Luther King came to Salinas to Advocate for his release," says Monterey County Supervisor Luis Alejo.
Alejo says his own grandfather stood with Chavez during the movements decades ago, adding their legacy and that of other farm workers who participated is still seen today.
“New opportunities, open doors for the children of farm workers and
grandchildren of farm workers to be able to now be professionals, to be the
first in their families to go to college and be leaders in their community,
I’m certainly a testament to that dream," says Alejo.
Supervisor Alejo says another part of Chavez's legacy is that people in the agriculture industry and farm worker labor unions are now able to participate and collaborate in county meetings to make their voices heard when it comes to things like funding and other political decisions.
Robert Perez with United Farm Workers here on the Central Coast and throughout the state says the last year served as a reminder of the importance of farm workers but says there is still more work to be done, starting with making sure they are safe and survive the ongoing pandemic.
“We’re vulnerable to COVID and we’re exposed to COVID at higher rates, I
think 574 thousand have been exposed, at this moment, the First Lady,
Doctor Jill Biden is joining us to see the resources and that legacy that
Cesar Chavez left of providing resources such as vaccines," says Perez.
Supervisor Alejo says the county is considering requesting state funding eventually to restore and preserve the old Monterey County Jail where Chavez was held as a permanent symbol of local history.
