U.S. Senator Ken Salazar

Member: Finance, Agriculture, Energy, Ethics and Aging Committees

 

2300 15th Street, Suite 450 Denver, CO 80202 | 702 Hart Senate Building, Washington, D.C. 20510

 

 

For Immediate Release

Thursday, April 10, 2008

CONTACT:Stephanie Valencia – 202-494-8790
Cody Wertz – 303-350-0032

UPDATE: Senate Passes Bill to Help Designate Sites Associated with Civil Rights Leader César Chávez as Historic Landmarks

 

WASHINGTON, DC – Today, the United States Senate passed the César Estrada Chávez Study Act (S. 327), bringing it one step closer to becoming law. The bill, co-sponsored by United States Senator Ken Salazar (D-CO), would authorize the Secretary of the U.S. Department of the Interior to conduct a special resource study of sites associated with the life of César Estrada Chávez. The study would help determine whether those sites meet the criteria for being listed on the National Register of Historic Places or possible designation as national historic landmarks. The house version is sponsored by Rep. Hilda Solis (H.R. 359) and was passed in July 2007. Now that the bill has been passed in the Senate, it will return to the House for procedural approval and will then be sent to the White House for President Bush’s signature.

“César Chávez ranks as one of our nation’s top civil rights leaders. His work to provide a voice for farm laborers across the country is second to none,” said Senator Salazar. “Sites where he fought for basic workers’ rights should be preserved to serve as reminders of his efforts for people today and for future generations.”

Specifically, the bill directs the Secretary of the Interior to complete, not later than three years after funds are made available, a resource study of sites in the State of Arizona, the State of California, and other States that are significant to the life of César Estrada Chávez and the farm labor movement in the western United States. The bill also directs the Secretary, in conducting the study, to consult with the César E. Chávez Foundation, the United Farm Workers Union and State and local historical associations.

Background: César Estrada Chávez was born on March 31, 1927 on a small farm in Yuma, Arizona. At age 10, Chavez and his family became migrant farm workers, laboring in fields across the Southwest enduring the hardships and injustices of farm worker life. In 1952, Chavez left the fields and became a community activist working for civil rights and social justice. In 1962, he founded the National Farm Workers Association, which later became the United Farm Workers of America, working for the rights and protections of farm workers. Chavez died on April 22, 1993.

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