President Barack Obama commemorated the anniversary of the birth of labor and civil rights leader Cesar Chavez, a "true champion for justice" who would have been 84 on Thursday.
"As we celebrate the anniversary of his birth, we honor Cesar Chavez's lasting victories for American workers and his noble methods in achieving them," Obama said in a presidential proclamation designating The late union organizer "advocated for and won many of the rights and benefits we now enjoy, and his spirit lives on in the hands and hearts of working women and men today," the president said.
March 31 as Cesar Chavez Day.
"As we face the challenges of our day, let us do so with the hope and determination of Cesar Chavez, echoing the words that were his rallying cry and that continue to inspire so many today, 'Sí, se puede' - 'Yes, we can'," said Obama, who adopted the slogan for his 2008 campaign.
Cesar Estrada Chavez was born on March 31, 1927, on a ranch near Yuma, Arizona.
His grandparents, who were of Mexican origin, were the owners of more than 100 acres of land that the family lost in the Great Depression.
In 1962, he founded with others the National Farm Workers Association, which later became the United Farm Workers, fulfilling his dream of creating an organization that would protect and help agricultural workers.
Chavez and the association headed a strike among grape pickers to demand better pay that lasted five years and was supported by a consumer boycott of that product.
He headed the UFW for three decades and achieved important advances in labor guarantees for agricultural workers.
In 1991, he was awarded the Order of the Aztec Eagle, the most important distinction bestowed by the Mexican government.
Chavez died on April 23, 1993, in San Luis, Arizona.
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