Mar 31, 2010

Cesar Chavez Day


今天是一个只有州政府员工才能享有的公众假日。以前也听说过这个节日,可是从来没有因此而放过假。对我来说,是一个天上掉下来的馅饼。到底是哪位英雄何方神圣让今天成为一个如此特殊的日子?上网了解了一下。

César Chávez Estrada (March 31, 1927 – April 23, 1993) was a Mexican American farm worker, labor leader, and civil rights activist who, with Dolores Huerta, co-founded the National Farm Workers Association, which later became the United Farm Workers (UFW). Supporters say his work led to numerous improvements for union laborers. His birthday has become César Chávez Day, a state holiday in eight US states.[citation needed] Many parks, cultural centers, libraries, schools, and streets have been named in his honor in cities across the United States.

Later in life, Chávez focused on his education. The walls of his office in Keene, California (United Farm Worker headquarters) were lined with hundreds of books ranging in subject from philosophy, economics, cooperatives, and unions, to biographies of Gandhi and the Kennedys. He was a vegan.

He is buried at the National Chavez Center, on the headquarters campus of the UFW, at 29700 Woodford-Tehachapi Road in the Keene community of unincorporated Kern County, California.

César Chávez's birthday, March 31, is celebrated in California as a state holiday, intended to promote service to the community in honor of Chávez's life and work. Many, but not all, state government offices, community colleges, and libraries are closed, except for K-12 schools. Texas also recognizes the day, and it is an optional holiday in Arizona and Colorado.