This year’s theme was Sí Se Puede: The Power of Collective Action
By OLIVIA HOKR — city@theaggie.org
Since 2001, the city of Davis’ Human Relations Commission has hosted an annual César Chávez celebration in late May or early April. On April 26, the event was held for the 25th year in Central Park. The celebration focused on advocating for collective action as well as farmworkers’ rights.
From 10 a.m. to 12 p.m., the event consisted of various speakers, dance performances, a mariachi performance and a poem reading from the current city of Davis poet laureate. To kickstart the celebration, Mayor Bapu Vaitla gave an opening welcome. In the press release from the city, he shared a statement about the aim of the community gathering.
“Each year with this event, we honor the remarkable life of civil rights leader César Chávez,” the press release reads. “In fighting for the rights of farmworkers, Chávez taught the world that everyone has the right to be treated with dignity and respect, regardless of livelihood or immigration status. Each of us contributes our work to the betterment of society; each of us has value. These simple and powerful ideas are César Chávez’s legacy.”
César Chávez is recognized as a labor leader and civil rights activist. As a co-founder of the National Farm Workers Association, which eventually grew into the United Farm Workers labor union, he brought to light the struggles of farmworkers. The labor union focused on improving working conditions and wages.
The celebration centers around a different theme every year. “Sí se puede,” which translates to “Yes, we can,” is the motto for the United Farm Workers union and also the theme for this year’s event. Community Relations Program Manager Carrie Dyer shared further insight into the theme.
“The planning committee selected the theme of ‘Sí Se Puede: The Power of Collective Action’ to acknowledge that it takes communities working together to make strides,” Dyer said. “The event will focus on the overarching theme of collective action, with speakers and performances addressing it.”
The speakers included people from organizations such as NorCal Resist and a case worker for the California Rural Legal Assistance Foundation. Natalia Deeb-Sossa, a current professor in Chicana/o studies at the UC Davis, also gave a speech. Deeb-Sossa has worked in public higher education for 18 years and has published a number of books and articles highlighting the sociological issues that different Latinx communities are facing. At the Chávez event, she connected the theme of collective action to modern-day society.
“Chávez taught us how to organize, how to dream for a just and equitable world that does not exist and make it exist,” Deeb-Sossa said. “It is not enough to have great moral indignation. We need to act through rallies, boycotts, marches [and] hunger strikes. Everyday we need to risk it all as César Chávez and the farmworkers did with courage and determination. Our democracy, our rule of law, our intellectual freedom, our reproductive rights and education system are at stake. Given this, we must be willing to make the personal sacrifice and the life commitment required to motivate and inspire others to join us to overcome all our obstacles for as long as it takes.”
The annual César Chávez celebrations continue to motivate the community to support one another. By looking back on times prominent with discrimination and injustice, it is also important to remember the sacrifices and the actions that people made to bring forth change.
Written By: Olivia Hokr — city@theaggie.org
