March 31, 2004

LANSING – Governor Jennifer M. Granholm celebrated the first Cesar E. Chavez Day in Michigan today by attending events held in Grand Rapids and Lansing. Granholm signed legislation on December 3, 2003, that established March 31 as Cesar E. Chavez Day in Michigan. The day commemorates the birthday of the late civil rights and labor leader who died in 1993.

"Cesar Chavez was a true American leader and hero whose legacy has touched us all," Granholm said. "He serves as an inspiration not only to the Hispanic community but to all people who work to improve their communities by fighting discrimination, working for economic equality, and ensuring safe and fair working conditions."

Granholm began the day by hosting a breakfast for farm workers and advocates in her Lansing office. She also gave remarks at a reception at Grand Rapids Community College hosted by the Grand Rapids Michigan Committee to Honor Cesar E. Chavez and will end the day by speaking at the Capital Area Cesar E. Chavez Commission, 2004 Commemoration Dinner and Program.

Throughout the day, the Governor spoke about the need to make our state strong and to make it an economic powerhouse by valuing diversity and encouraging creativity.

"We are a state with enormous diversity, and yet we still struggle to break down the racial, ethnic, and economic barriers that separate us," said Granholm. "If Michigan is to grow and thrive in this new century, we must provide businesses with workers who are highly educated and communities that are diverse and inclusive. We can improve the quality of life for every Michigan citizen by following the examples set by Cesar Chavez."

Chavez founded the United Farm Workers of America (UFW) in 1962 as a way to protect and serve farm workers, whose poverty and disenfranchisement he had shared. For more than three decades, Chavez led the UFW, achieving dignity, respect, fair wages, medical coverage, pension benefits, and humane living conditions as well as countless other rights and protections for hundreds of thousands of farm workers.

Cesar Chavez died on April 23, 1993, at the age of 66.