A local nonprofit organized its 20th annual Cesar Chavez Day celebration over the weekend, which drew more than 200 people.
The late Chavez was a U.S. farmworker, labor leader and civil rights activist who co-founded the National Farm Workers Association, later renamed United Farm Workers, with Dolores Huerta. The union aimed to organize field laborers to bargain for higher wages and obtain rights in the workplace.
Among Chavez’s most well-known anti-violence tactics were a grape boycott, which pressured growers into wage-bargaining with workers, fasting, marches and picketing. Cesar Chavez Day was officially observed Monday. The local celebration was started by the Madera Coalition for Community Justice a year after Chavez’s death. The event was co-sponsored by Anthem Blue Cross and received donations from individuals, organizations and businesses, organizers said.
Local officials, including county supervisor Max Rodriguez and Madera Unified School District Chief Academic Officer Robert Chavez, attended the celebration at Martin Luther King Jr. Middle School on Sunday. Robert Chavez was the keynote speaker...