{"id":30112,"date":"2022-03-27T01:02:15","date_gmt":"2022-03-27T01:02:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/cjstudents.com\/?p=30112"},"modified":"2022-03-27T01:02:15","modified_gmt":"2022-03-27T01:02:15","slug":"yes-we-can-cesar-e-chavez-march-for-justice-returns-to-streets-of-san-antonio-after-two-year-covid-hiatus","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/cjstudents.com\/index.php\/2022\/03\/27\/yes-we-can-cesar-e-chavez-march-for-justice-returns-to-streets-of-san-antonio-after-two-year-covid-hiatus\/","title":{"rendered":"\u2018Yes, we can\u2019 \u2014 C\u00e9sar E. Ch\u00e1vez March for Justice returns to streets of San Antonio after two-year COVID hiatus"},"content":{"rendered":"<p> [ad_1]<\/p>\n<p>Petra Mata, 75, and Juanita Reyna, 66, arrived early for the start of the 26th annual C\u00e9sar E. Ch\u00e1vez March for Justice.<\/p>\n<p>That\u2019s been their routine since the march began in 1997: stake out a viewing spot at Guadalupe and Brazos Street before the crowds show up. It\u2019s an opportunity to pay homage to Ch\u00e1vez, co-founder of the United Farm Workers and an iconic labor and civil rights leader.<\/p>\n<div id=\"paywall\">\n    <!-- Missed: ad --><\/p>\n<p>Mata and Reyna are not halfhearted about worker rights. They were among the San Antonio garment workers who lost their jobs when <a target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.csmonitor.com\/1992\/1109\/09072.html\" rel=\"noopener\">Levi Strauss &amp; Co. shuttered three local jeans plants in 1990<\/a>. They and other laid-off workers fought hard for severance pay. From that struggle emerged Fuerza Unida (United Force), a nonprofit that seeks to empower women workers.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cHe was a hero,\u201d Mata said of Ch\u00e1vez, who died in 1993 at age 66. \u201cHe struggled to fight for people working in the fields. We continue, no matter what.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>After a two-year hiatus caused by COVID-19, the March for Justice returned to the streets on Saturday. Shouts of \u201cSi Se Peude!\u201d (Yes, We Can) echoed through downtown. \u201cLa Causa Sigue\u201d (The Cause Continues) was the theme of this year\u2019s march.<\/p>\n<p class=\"mm_related\">\n                    <strong>On ExpressNews.com:<\/strong> <a target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.expressnews.com\/news\/local\/article\/Cesar-E-Ch-vez-March-for-Justice-returns-March-17013993.php\" rel=\"noopener\">Ch\u00e1vez marchers will be taking it to the streets again after COVID hiatus<\/a>\n<\/p>\n<p>Hundreds of people gathered near the Guadalupe Cultural Arts Center on the near West Side for a commemorative program before the start of the 2.4-mile march to Hemisfair Plaza.<\/p>\n<p>Local labor organizer Jaime Martinez started the San Antonio march in 1997. His son, Ernest J. Martinez, chair of the C\u00e9sar E. Ch\u00e1vez Legacy &amp; Educational Foundation, paid tribute Saturday to several groups, including Ukrainian San Antonio, a nonprofit that is collecting donations to help Ukrainians displaced by the Russian invasion of their country.<\/p>\n<p>    <!-- Missed: ad --><\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe world stands in solidarity with the people of Ukraine,\u201d Martinez said. \u201cAnd so do we.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Olena Garcia and Olena Khrystyuk, representing the Ukrainian organization, thanked the crowd for their support. Khrystyuk said Ch\u00e1vez\u2019s legacy inspires people the world over to fight for their rights.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cJust like the people of Ukraine are fighting for their rights and freedom,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n<p>The crowd observed a moment of silence for those who have died in the war. Then a marcher opened a white wicker basket and released a flock of doves into the air.<\/p>\n<p>Martinez also acknowledged musicians of the San Antonio Symphony, who have been on strike for nearly six months in a contract dispute with the symphony board. The musicians held signs that said \u201cFighting for a living wage!\u201d and \u201cWe demand good faith bargaining.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Mayor Ron Nirenberg announced that March 31, C\u00e9sar Ch\u00e1vez Day, will be an official city holiday beginning this year. President Barack Obama declared the date a federal commemorative holiday in 2014.<\/p>\n<p>Nirenberg said San Antonio will be the first U.S. city to make the date a paid holiday for its employees.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe change that begins on the streets is change that emanates through this city,\u201d the mayor said. \u201cAnd the change that begins in San Antonio emanates throughout the United States.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"mm_related\">\n                    <strong>On ExpressNews.com:<\/strong> <a target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.expressnews.com\/opinion\/commentary\/article\/Fighting-cause-Ch-vez-championed-17023609.php\" rel=\"noopener\">Commentary: City holiday will give Ch\u00e1vez his due<\/a>\n<\/p>\n<p>Grand marshals of the parade were Nirenberg\u2019s wife, Erika Prosper Nirenberg, and Paul Ch\u00e1vez, son of the civil rights leader.<\/p>\n<p>    <!-- Missed: ad --><\/p>\n<p>Prosper Nirenberg, the daughter of migrant farmworkers, said he\u2019s derived great satisfaction from reading to schoolchildren about Ch\u00e1vez\u2019s life and legacy.<\/p>\n<p>That legacy includes \u201cthe freedom to march and freedom to remind those in power they\u2019re not there without us,\u201d she said. \u201cThose kids, they need to hear that from us every day, that they matter.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Romulo Spiller, 65, carried a blue-and-yellow Ukraine flag as he walked the parade route. His wife, Patricia, 64, said she had been participating since she was a student at Lanier High School, located on C\u00e9sar E. Ch\u00e1vez Boulevard west of downtown.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIt brings into focus the struggle that migrant farm workers experienced,\u201d she said. \u201cIt\u2019s a good platform for organizations that have a statement to make and help the less fortunate who don\u2019t have a voice.\u201d<\/p>\n<aside class=\"article--content-inline\">\n<aside class=\"zone\"><!-- src\/business\/widgets\/hearst\/collection\/widget.tpl --><!-- noGen: collection_92a2b5cb9c6906035c2864fa225e1940_118473_ssl --><!-- e src\/business\/widgets\/hearst\/collection\/widget.tpl --><!-- src\/business\/widgets\/hearst\/collection\/widget.tpl --><!-- e src\/business\/widgets\/hearst\/collection\/widget.tpl --><\/aside>\n<\/aside>\n<p>An indigenous group led the marchers, providing the beat of drums and a trail of sage in the air. The Lanier High School ROTC team followed, ahead of the speakers, dignitaries and farm workers bearing a long banner with black eagle icons. Marchers chanted and clapped as they headed over the Guadalupe Street bridge, onto Frio Street and then Dolorosa Street.<\/p>\n<p>As the marchers passed City Hall, a mother pulled her sleeping daughter in a red wagon.<\/p>\n<p>Albino Ortiz, 43, held above his head an oil portrait of Ch\u00e1vez painted by his uncle, artist Abel Ortiz. Albino said he had traveled from Kansas with his family for the event.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIt\u2019s a family tradition for us,\u201d he said. \u201cKeeping their memories alive and what they stood for and being able to represent that is a big deal for us.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>    <!-- Missed: ad --><\/p>\n<p>At Hemisfair Plaza, Karina Balvas, 26, said she took part to honor family members who worked the fields so that they\u2019re not forgotten.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIt\u2019s not fair that you should be mistreated because of how you look or your background,\u201d she said. \u201cEverybody is human, and they deserve the same decency.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Victoria Ch\u00e1vez, 32, learned about the march at San Antonio College, where she is a student. The medical assistant said she came out to support better treatment for farm workers.<\/p>\n<p>A plus was hearing Little Joe, one of her favorite bands.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIt was great,\u201d Ch\u00e1vez said as her two-year-old son sat in a stroller. \u201cBeing around everybody was a really good atmosphere. You felt the unity, the community and the love.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>            <em><\/p>\n<p>vtdavis@express-news.net<\/p>\n<p>                <\/em><\/p>\n<section id=\"articleBottom\" class=\"article--content-zone bottom\"\/><\/div>\n<p>[ad_2]<br \/>\n<br \/><a href=\"https:\/\/www.expressnews.com\/news\/local\/article\/Yes-we-can-Cesar-E-Ch-vez-March-for-17031109.php\">Source link <\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>[ad_1] Petra Mata, 75, and Juanita Reyna, 66, arrived early for the start of the&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":30113,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[21],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-30112","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-cj-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/cjstudents.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/30112","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/cjstudents.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/cjstudents.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cjstudents.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cjstudents.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=30112"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/cjstudents.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/30112\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":30114,"href":"https:\/\/cjstudents.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/30112\/revisions\/30114"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cjstudents.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/30113"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/cjstudents.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=30112"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cjstudents.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=30112"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cjstudents.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=30112"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}