The Meriam Library Complex will be closed in observance of Cesar Chavez Day, Tuesday March 31st. Regular semester hours will resume Wednesday April 1st at 7:30 am.
posted by Library Building Management
Image by Jay Galvin used under the Creative Commons License.
Who is Cesar Chavez and why is this man honored each March 31st in most states in the U.S.?
Primary founder of the United Farm Workers, Chávez was one of the earliest and most influential advocates of immigrant farmworkers and Latinos in the United States. He worked to improve conditions for farm laborers by organizing the California farm workers’ movement through events such as the Delano strike of 1965, thereby engineering the passage of the nation’s first farm labor law in the late 1970’s. March 31 is the day of his birth and the day is commemorated to promote service to the community in honor of Cesar Chavez's life and work.*
To learn more about the life of Cesar Chavez check out this sampling of titles available at Meriam Library:
The crusades of Cesar Chavez: a biography / Miriam Pawel
Cesar Chavez and the common sense of nonviolence / José-Antonio Orosco
Beyond the fields: Cesar Chavez, the UFW, and the struggle for justice in the 21st century / Randy Shaw
Cesar Chavez [electronic resource]: autobiography of La Causa / Jacques E. Levy
From the jaws of victory: the triumph and tragedy of Cesar Chavez and the farm worker movement / Matt Garcia
One night in America: Robert Kennedy, César Chávez, and the dream of dignity / Steven W. Bender
The fight in the fields [DVD]: Cesar Chavez and the farmworkers' struggle
* Garcia, C. M. (2014). César Chávez. Salem Press Biographical Encyclopedia.