The Cesar Chavez Convocation was an annual event at the

University of California, Santa Cruz The University of California, Santa Cruz (UC Santa Cruz or UCSC) is a public land-grant research university in Santa Cruz, California. It is one of the ten campuses in the University of California system. Located on Monterey Bay, on the edge ...

(UCSC) during the month of May, commemorating

Cesar Chavez Cesar Chavez (born Cesario Estrada Chavez ; ; March 31, 1927 – April 23, 1993) was an American labor leader and civil rights activist. Along with Dolores Huerta, he co-founded the National Farm Workers Association (NFWA), which later mer ...

and his legacy. Keynote speakers were invited to partake in the convocation to honor Cesar Chavez by relating social justice issues to the

Hispanic and Latino Hispanic and Latino Americans ( es, Estadounidenses hispanos y latinos; pt, Estadunidenses hispânicos e latinos) are Americans of Spanish and/or Latin American ancestry. More broadly, these demographics include all Americans who identify a ...

community on campus. The convocation aimed to create a space where students could have dialogue about engaging with

social justice Social justice is justice in terms of the distribution of wealth, Equal opportunity, opportunities, and Social privilege, privileges within a society. In Western Civilization, Western and Culture of Asia, Asian cultures, the concept of social ...

issues and

leadership Leadership, both as a research area and as a practical skill, encompasses the ability of an individual, group or organization to "lead", influence or guide other individuals, teams, or entire organizations. The word "leadership" often gets v ...

. This annual event was organized largely by the Chicanx/Latinx Resource Center, also known as El Centro, and students of

UC Santa Cruz The University of California, Santa Cruz (UC Santa Cruz or UCSC) is a public land-grant research university in Santa Cruz, California. It is one of the ten campuses in the University of California system. Located on Monterey Bay, on the edge of ...

. The event was open to the Santa Cruz community and was free of charge. The 16th annual convocation took place in 2019, with a focus on community organization. In 2020, the event was renamed to ''Nuestras Raíces: The Art of Community Empowerment.''

Rosie Cabrera and Jose Olivas

Rosie Cabrera, director of the Chicano Latino Resource Center, and Jose Olivas, a MECHA member, worked together to organize the Cesar Chavez Convocation. Jose was an undergraduate student at UCSC who was impacted by the death of Cesar Chavez. For this reason Jose sought for the campus to commemorate Cesar Chavez, at first by naming College 8 a college within

after Cesar. But this idea was minimized due to the lack of funding and donors. The partnership then began when Jose approached Rosie and proposed this idea that focused on how Chicano Latino people on campus can come together in a space characterized by leadership and social justice. At this point they already had a model from the

Martin Luther King Martin Luther King Jr. (born Michael King Jr.; January 15, 1929 – April 4, 1968) was an American Baptist minister and activist, one of the most prominent leaders in the civil rights movement from 1955 until his assassination in 1968 ...

convocation, however, the essence for the Cesar Chavez Convocation would be different due to the different histories. When Rosie worked a
Education Opportunity Program (EOP)at UCSC
she noticed existing traditions already established, she comes from that sensibility and understanding that community is built by establishing traditions. To further enhance the envisioned Cesar Chavez Convocation she added the insight in community building. Coming together as one in order to celebrate and commemorate not just Cesar Chavez but also one another. Her sentiments were to see if this was viable if it is viable then it is a partnership that can be built.

Convocations

First Annual

The first Cesar Chavez Convocation took place on May 14, 2004 at UC Santa Cruz. Students, faculty and staff gathered collectively in order to celebrate the life and work of Cesar Chavez. The guest invited to participate as the keynote speaker was the co-founder of the

United Farm Workers The United Farm Workers of America, or more commonly just United Farm Workers (UFW), is a labor union for farmworkers in the United States. It originated from the merger of two workers' rights organizations, the Agricultural Workers Organizing ...

(UFW),

Dolores Huerta Dolores Clara Fernández Huerta (born April 10, 1930) is an American labor leader and civil rights activist who, with Cesar Chavez, is a co-founder of the National Farmworkers Association, which later merged with the Agricultural Workers Organi ...

. The convocation sought to educate the community about the farm workers movement and the struggles they faced alongside

. In addition there was discussion about the contemporary struggles, at that time, faced by farm works. During the convocation the film ''Struggles in the Fields'', was shown.

Second Annual

The second annual Cesar Chavez Convocation occurred on May 16, 2005. The keynote speaker that participated in the convocation was the artist, director and founder of

El Teatro Campesino El Teatro Campesino ( Spanish for "The Farmworker's Theater") is a Chicano theatre company in California. Performing in both English and Spanish, El Teatro Campesino was founded in 1965 as the cultural arm of the United Farm Workers and the C ...

Luis Valdez Luis Miguel Valdez (born June 26, 1940) is an American playwright, screenwriter, film director and actor. Regarded as the father of Chicano film and theater, Valdez is best known for his play '' Zoot Suit'', his movie '' La Bamba'', and his cre ...

. Through the framework of Luis Valdez accomplishments the convocation sought to honor Cesar Chavez’s life work. The second annual Cesar Chavez Convocation sought to continue a theme of

Social Justice Social justice is justice in terms of the distribution of wealth, Equal opportunity, opportunities, and Social privilege, privileges within a society. In Western Civilization, Western and Culture of Asia, Asian cultures, the concept of social ...

Third Annual

The third annual Cesar Chavez Convocation was held on May 11, 2006. The keynote speaker who partook in this convocation was Arturo Rodriguez, second president of th
United Farm Workers

Fourth Annual

On May 16, 2007 the fourth annual Cesar Chavez Convocation was held at UC Santa Cruz. There was a slight change in the focus of the keynote speaker for this convocation. The move was from the

issues to

issues and organizing. The keynote speaker for the convocation was Maria Elena Durazo, a noted labor leader in the

Los Angeles County Los Angeles County, officially the County of Los Angeles, and sometimes abbreviated as L.A. County, is the most populous county in the United States and in the U.S. state of California, with 9,861,224 residents estimated as of 2022. It is th ...

. In addition this event celebrated the inauguration of the new UC Santa Cruz Center for Labor Studies.

Fifth Annual

The fifth annual Cesar Chavez Convocation deviated slightly from the prior years in terms of structure and intent. On May 14, 2008 keynote speaker Guillermo Gomez-Peña performed a piece called Mexorcist. Guillermo Gomez-Peña used political satire in order to address the issue of racialization around “raza.” As part of the convocation a town hall was called upon in order to create a space in which people could express the way they felt. Pena expresses his opinion on immigration issues in the following article.

Sixth Annual

The sixth annual Cesar Chavez Convocation was celebrated on May 14, 2009. The keynote speaker who participated was Kent Wong, director of the UCLA Center for Labor Research and Education and professor of Asian American Studies. At this time the issue around the

DREAM Act The Development, Relief, and Education for Alien Minors Act, known as the DREAM Act, is a United States legislative proposal to grant temporary conditional residency, with the right to work, to illegal immigrants who entered the United States ...

was highly contested. In contrast to previous years, the essence of this convocation changed slightly. By bringing in the best person to talk about the issue it offered El Centro the opportunity to collaborate on with the Asian American Pacific Islander resource center. Furthermore, it acknowledged that the

and undocumentation is not only a Latino issue.

Seventh Annual

The seventh annual Cesar Chavez Convocation was celebrated on May 20, 2010 with keynote speaker Maria Hinojosa. Maria Hinojosa is the Senior Correspondent for the broadcast news magazine NOW on PBS.

Eighth Annual

The eighth annual Cesar Chavez Convocation occurred on May 25, 2011 with keynote speaker Rev. Gregory Boyle. Rev. Gregory Boyle is the founder of Homeboy Industries the program offers alternatives to gang violence. During the convocation Rev. Gregory Boyle discussed the role and impact of gangs on Latinos and other youth of color.

Ninth Annual

The ninth annual Cesar Chavez Convocation was held on May 16, 2012 with keynote speaker Jose Antonio Vargas, Pulitzer Prize–winning journalist, and founder o
DefineAmerican.com
and undocumented Immigrant. Jose Antonio Vargas shared with the Santa Cruz community his experience about being an undocumented immigrant and the challenges he faced when pursuing his America dream.

Tenth Annual

The tenth annual Cesar Chavez Convocation was celebrated on May 7, 2013 with keynote speaker

, co-founder of the UFW. Dolores Huerta delivered an inspirational speech weaving a thread through the contemporary social issues. Some of the issues discussed were inequity of the education system, the power of organizing, and the prison industrial complex.

Eleventh Annual

The eleventh annual Cesar Chavez Convocation was held on May 20, 2014, with keynote speaker Cesar Cruz.

Twelfth Annual

The twelfth annual Cesar Chavez Convocation was held on May 12, 2015, with keynote speaker Daniel "Nane" Alejandrez, executive director o
Santa Cruz Barrios Unidos

Thirteenth Annual

The thirteenth annual Cesar Chavez Convocation was held on May 18, 2016, with keynote speaker Carmen Perez, UCSC alumna and executive director o
''The Gathering for Justice''

Fourteenth Annual

The fourteenth annual Cesar Chavez Convocation was held on May 16, 2017, hosting Paul Ortiz, and shifting to an interactive panel style.

Fifteenth Annual

The fifteenth annual Cesar Chavez Convocation was held on May 16, 2018, hosting activists present in the 1968 L.A. Walkouts: Yolanda Rios, Margarita “Mita” Cuaron, Bobby Verdugo, Paula Crisostomo, and John Ortiz.

Sixteenth Annual

The sixteenth annual Cesar Chavez Convocation was held on May 14, 2019, with keynote speakers Judy de los Santos, political secretary of
Union del Barrio
'' and Elias Gonzales, coordinator at
MILPA
'.

Nuestras Raíces (2020)

The first ''Nuestras Raíces: The Art of Community Empowerment'' event was held on April 8, 2020, hosting the poets Alan Pelaez Lopez and Yesika Salgado.

Nuestras Raíces (2021)

The second ''Nuestras Raíces: The Art of Community Empowerment'' event was held on May 12, 2021, focusing on mutual aid, hosting Colectivo Revolunas and the Watsonville Campesino Appreciation Caravan.

References

External links

DefineAmerican.comUCSC Remembers Cesar Chavez Article
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* * *{{cite news, url=https://www.nytimes.com/2011/06/26/magazine/my-life-as-an-undocumentedimmigrant.html?pagewanted=all, title=The New York Times, accessdate=2014-04-14 University of California, Santa Cruz