Students marched among the 10,000 supporters at the 13th annual César Chávez March for Justice to commemorate the life of the civil rights leader from Plaza Guadalupe up to a rally at the Alamo March 28 co-sponsored by the City of San Antonio.
In 1962, Chávez founded the United Farm Workers of America, an organization whose purpose is to "provide farm workers and other working people with the inspiration and tools to share in society's bounty," the Web site www.ufw.org reports.
Marchers chanted the organization's motto "Sí se puede," translated as "Yes, we can."
Arturo Rodriguez, Chávez's son-in-law and president of the organization, led the march as grand marshal.
The organization's Web site states, "He seeks to fundamentally transform American agriculture by creating jobs offering workers decent pay, comprehensive health coverage, retirement security, protections against toxic poisons, job security and guarantees against discrimination and sexual harassment."
Students representing Our Lady of the Lake University called for "fair work, fair wages."
John Gil, business freshman and student leadership board member at St. Philip's College, said, "We did get a big turnout this time, but we want to get even more."
Gil said about 20 students marched representing St. Philip's.
Nano Calderón, history and Mexican-American studies senior and president of the Mexican-American Studies Student Organization at the University of Texas at San Antonio, said his organization wants more support in the public school system.
"Mexican-American history and other things related to that are not really taught," Calderón said.
Claudia Sanchez, a biology senior at UTSA, has been the student outreach coordinator and a board member of the César Chávez Legacy and Educational Fund for nine years.
"This is one of the largest marches in the nation," Sanchez said.
She said the organization tries every year to reach the younger generation, including college, elementary and middle school students because "they're the ones that might not know of César Chávez."
"He's a great role model that we can all look up to, not just Latinos," Sanchez said.
Jaime Martinez, president and founder of the César Chávez Legacy and Educational Fund, led the Alamo rally.
The foundation has awarded 22 scholarships to college, university and high school students.
Rosa Rosales, national president of the League of United Latin American Citizens, addressed the crowd, saying, "If I can say anything today that will make a difference because I echo everybody's speeches and that is that together, we can make a difference,"
LULAC is the oldest and largest Latino civil rights organization in the United States.
Rosales asked the audience to think about their neighbors, the unemployed, those losing their homes or living without insurance, and the elderly who have to choose between food or medicine.
Sociology Instructor Joe M. Gonzales said more students were involved in this year's march to support social change.
"They were very active," Gonzales said.
About 18 to 20 students from this college participated in the organization and promotion, he said.
Ximena Alvarez, radio-television-broadcasting sophomore, works as public relations director at Cin-Co Film Works Production on a documentary of the 1960s civil rights movement.
"I've always wanted to make a huge difference," Alvarez said in Spanish. "I want to show the faces of those workers, who are always in the sun and bring food to our homes."
César Chávez said, "Once social change begins, it cannot be reversed. You cannot uneducate the person who has learned to read.
You cannot humiliate the person who feels pride. You cannot oppress the people who are not afraid anymore. We have seen the future, and the future is ours."
For more information on the César Chávez Legacy and Educational Fund, call 226-2301, visit the Web site www.cesarchavezlegacy.org or the office at 1504 E. Commerce.
Be the first to comment on this article!