Statement of Sen. Cantwell on Cesar Chavez Day
Today we celebrate the life of one of America's greatest civil rights and labor leaders, Cesar Chavez. The effects of his work on behalf of farm workers and to improve civil rights are still felt across America today, from Salinas to Selah. Although Chavez is best remembered for his decades of work to advance these causes, the principles that guided him are universal and enduring.
Chavez's motto, “sí se puede” (it can be done), embodies the entrepreneurial spirit that made America great, and continues to make our nation stronger every day. Although he labored to overcome tremendous obstacles, he is remembered not just for his grit and determination, but his optimism that those barriers could be surmounted.
Just as importantly, Chavez set goals to better the conditions not just of individuals, but of our society. As he once put it, “We cannot seek achievement for ourselves and forget about progress and prosperity for our community . . . Our ambitions must be broad enough to include the aspirations and needs of others, for their sakes and for our own.”
The values and philosophy Chavez embraced are as important to the challenges we face today – from educating our children, to improving health care, to creating opportunity for all our workers – as they were to the causes he championed decades ago. When we honor these principles, Cesar Chavez's legacy lives on.
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