Remembering Cesar Chavez

Cesar Chavez died today, 15 years ago.

Congressman Joe Baca and Senator Robert Menendez published an opinion piece today, urging the nation to elevate Cesar Chavez’s to hero status. They have been pushing a resolution that would “urge the creation of a national holiday celebrating his life, and encourage public schools to teach about his work”. Ten states have already declared statewide holidays.

For all of the hype about the rise of the Latino majority in the United States, we have remarkably few recognized heroes. I challenge you to quickly name five Latino/a U.S.-based heroes.

Chavez dedicated his life to improving labor conditions for poor workers, particularly migrants. Recently Latino restaurant workers who claim they are paid “slave wages” of $1.25 per hour as dishwashers and delivery staff have been protesting at various New York restaurants. Below is a picture of some workers protesting at a restaurant in my neighborhood.

It took 15 years after the assassination of Martin Luther King for a federal holiday to be established in his honor. It took another 17 years after the federal law was signed for all 50 states to officially observe the holiday. Many states resisted, including Virginia which had created a “Lee-Jackson-King Day” to simultaneously celebrate King’s legacy alongside a celebration of Confederate Army generals.

My home state of Arizona famously resisted the King holiday. In 1987 the Governor rescinded the MLK holiday in one of his first acts in office. In 1990 efforts to pass a ballot measure to restore the holiday were defeated. In 1992 the pro-King advocates tried again and this time won by a landslide. The campaign made very different choices in 1992, many which were at odds with local leaders. Peter Burr of Command Research described the campaign strategy in an article written by Erik Dodds Potholm.

Campaign obstacles included major voter fatigue, an impression among white voters that the holiday was really for African Americans, a misimpression that King had stimulated violence, and widespread annoyance that the state had been labeled “racist” by outsiders after the 1990 defeat.

The campaign message strategy was:

1. Emphasize King’s values, not his life
2. Work with groups outside of Arizona to minimize the appearance of outside influence
3. Minimize opportunities for opponents to be heard by avoiding media events where reporters would seek both sides of the story.
4. Use ads that minimized confrontation and focused on ordinary people of diverse backgrounds
5. Invest more in grassroots than in paid advertising

Thankfully, the strategy worked and the King Holiday initiative won by a landslide.