Governor Granholm to Celebrate Cesar E. Chavez Day in Lansing, Kalamazoo

March 30, 2005

First Gentleman Will Join Governor in Honoring Farm Workers

LANSING – Governor Jennifer M. Granholm will celebrate the second Cesar E. Chavez Day on Thursday by attending events in Lansing and Kalamazoo that commemorate the birthday of the late civil rights and labor leader.  Granholm signed legislation in 2003 that established March 31 as Cesar E. Chavez Day in Michigan. 

“Cesar E. Chavez Day is a day of service and learning, because Cesar Chavez was a man who firmly believed in ‘educating the heart’ as well as the mind,” Granholm said.  “He was a man who dedicated his life to protecting and serving farm workers whose poverty and disenfranchisement he shared and understood.  And, he was a man who practiced what he believed – ‘The end of all education should surely be service to others.’ ”

Throughout the day, the Governor will address the need to make our state strong and to make it an economic powerhouse by valuing diversity and encouraging creativity.  The Governor’s schedule includes the following:

• 9 a.m. –  Granholm will begin the day with First Gentleman Dan Mulhern hosting a breakfast to honor farm workers and celebrate the life of Cesar E. Chavez.  The invitation-only event will be held in the Michigan Room of the George W. Romney Building, 111 S. Capitol Avenue, downtown Lansing.
• Noon – the Governor will give brief remarks at the annual celebration honoring the legacy of Cesar Chavez at Western Michigan University’s (WMU) Bernhard Center.  Western Michigan’s Division of Multicultural Affairs, in collaboration with the Kalamazoo Area Cesar E. Chavez Organizing Committee, is sponsoring the celebration.
• 4 p.m. – Governor Granholm will attend Lansing Community College’s Cesar Chavez Day Celebration which will include the dedication of the Cesar Chavez Learning Center at Lansing Community College – Third Floor Lobby of the Gannon Building, downtown Lansing.

“On Cesar Chavez Day, we express our solidarity with a man who was passionate about the importance of family, teaching, and leadership,” Granholm said.  “He was a servant of the people and was clearly a man who believed in and practiced being of service to others.  As we reflect on his contributions, we should also remember his words:  “Those who are willing to sacrifice and be of service have very little difficulty with people.  They know what they are all about.  People can’t help but want to be near them.  They help them. They work with them. That’s what love is all about.  It starts with your heart and radiates out.”

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, working for 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.