OUSD Celebrates Cesar Chavez Day

We cannot seek achievement for ourselves and forget about progress and prosperity for our community.Cesar Chavez

Tomorrow, March 28, in observance of Cesar Chavez Day, our schools and offices will be closed. Cesar Chavez Day is celebrated annually on or around March 31, which is Chavez’ birthday. It became a state holiday in California in 2000 and a federal commemorative holiday in 2014, declared by President Barack Obama.

This year, let us not only celebrate Cesar Chavez the man - a visionary in the fight for labor rights and fair treatment - but also reflect on our shared values of supporting one another and respecting the dignity of every individual.

Born in Yuma, Arizona in 1927, Chavez moved to California in the late 1930s. He dropped out of school in the 8th grade to work full time in the fields. In 1952, Chavez was working at a lumberyard in San Jose when he became a grassroots organizer for the Community Service Organization, a Latino civil rights group. Chavez and Dolores Huerta founded the National Farm Workers Association, which later became the United Farm Workers of America. Along with Filipino leaders, Larry Itliong and Philip Vera Cruz, they led the five year long grape strike that led to a nationwide boycott of California grapes.

In the early 1960s, President John F. Kennedy offered Chavez the job of running the Peace Corps for part of Latin America, which would have come with a big house and servants. But Chavez turned it down, instead opting for a life of self-imposed poverty.

The grape strike ended in 1970 with a deal that gave workers higher pay and allowed them to unionize. Chavez continued to lead efforts in support of workers rights across the country, including a campaign highlighting the dangers of pesticides to workers and children. He died in 1993, and one year later, President Bill Clinton posthumously awarded Chavez the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the nation’s highest civilian honor.

Cesar Chavez's connection to Oakland, particularly the Fruitvale district, runs deep. Oakland served as a pivotal training ground for Chavez, where he honed his skills as an organizer and advocate for the rights of farm workers and Mexican Americans. In his honor, two OUSD elementary schools - International Community School and Think College Now - share the Cesar E. Chavez Campus, where the playground received a complete transformation in 2020 thanks to a collaborative effort involving the Trust for Public Land and Green Schoolyards America. The project replaced more than 10,000 square feet of asphalt with a sustainable green environment for the 600 pre-K to 5th grade students and their families, and the greater Fruitvale neighborhood.

In Chavez's words: “We cannot seek achievement for ourselves and forget about progress and prosperity for our community.” Across the District, that principal helps drive what we do, as we know the importance of providing every student with the opportunities and support they need to thrive. By championing the causes of fairness, equal opportunity, environmental stewardship, and education, we ensure that the legacy of Cesar Chavez carries on, inspiring students, educators, and families.

We wish you a happy Cesar Chavez Day and a safe and restful spring break.