MODESTO BEE

April 6, 2007

Activist urges MJC students to build on Chávez's work

By EVE HIGHTOWER

A generation after César Chávez and other farm labor organizers took to the fields to unite workers, their struggle continues.

Without pausing to reflect on past struggles and successes, United Farm Workers activist Dolores Huerta pumped her 76-year-old fist in the air as she rallied the next generation around today's issues.

At a Modesto Junior College celebration Thursday night of Chávez's work uniting farmworkers by leading strikes and establishing the United Farm Workers, she spoke of immigration legislation and the role of women in modern society.

"I used to tell people to quit school so they could join the movement," Huerta told students and other community members. "And César was telling people to stay in school."

She changed her message Thursday night when speaking of last year's marches in favor of immigrant legalization.

"May 1 is coming around again. Some people say walk out of school and work on May 1. Do not do this. That will not help us get a legalization bill," she said.

Huerta spent much of Thursday lobbying for immigration legislation. If immigration is not addressed before the 2008 presidential campaigns escalate, the legislation will not be passed, she said. So she urged the audience to push the issue by sending postcards to the Republican National Committee and organizing a children's march for April 29.

Huerta figures a children's march will remind people of who is affected by illegal immigration and deportation — the children and families left behind on either side of the border. Huerta said people would not leave their countries for the United States were it not for a promise of a better life for their families.

"Why do people leave the beautiful countries we go to as tourists? Because there are no jobs there," she said. "And they'll continue to come to survive."

Huerta founded the UFW with Chávez, who died in 1993. She also spoke of women's place as leaders of the movement and country.

"If women can nurture our children, they can nurture our country," she said, adding that it will take everyone united to fill Chávez's shoes.