ISU holds first Cesar Chavez Day celebration

Cesar Chavez was one of the most influential activists of the 1960s. In 1962, he created the National Farm Workers Association, which would later become the United Farm Workers that we have today.

Idaho State University held its first ever Cesar Chavez Day celebration Saturday afternoon.

A documentary of the history of Latinos and farm workers in the 1960s kicked off the celebration. At the center of it all was one man, who many relate to one of America’s most influential leaders.

“A lot of people compare Cesar Chavez to Martin Luther King for Latinos,” said Carmen Febles, a professor in ISU’s Department of Global Studies and Languages.

Why compare him to Martin Luther King, Jr.?

Because Cesar Chavez was an activist for equal rights. He believed in equal pay for all farm workers. So he created a union to fight for those rights.

In communities like Pocatello, where farming plays a key role, Chavez’s efforts had a big impact.

“He’s important for where we are in Idaho because a lot of the families that provide for the students here, we are agricultural based,” said Rebecca Valles, president of the Lambda Theta Alpha sorority at ISU. “A lot of our parents work in the fields.”

Because Chavez was so instrumental in changing the way of living for Latino farm workers, Lambda Theta Alpha thought it was important to honor his history and his work.

But the sorority also wanted the event to teach the community about the importance of Latino heritage.

“We have a large Latino population in the local area and a growing one here on campus,” said Febles. “And we think it’s really important to acknowledge Cesar Chavez and to acknowledge them.”

Part of informing the community was to tell them how Cesar Chavez Avenue came to be.

A retired ISU professor remembers it well.

“Art Paz came to me in October 2001 with this beautiful idea,” said Andy Guerra, who was around during the naming of the street. “He wanted to have a street somewhere in Pocatello named Cesar Chavez and I went ‘wow, what a great idea.'”

It took less than one year for a main street on ISU’s campus to become Cesar Chavez Avenue. It was officially named in April 2002.

Now, 14 years later, it’s still just as significant. It was the first street in the state of Idaho to be named after Chavez.

The sorority plans to make Cesar Chavez Day an annual event at the university.

With a street in his name and a day set aside to honor him, Lambda Theta Alpha hopes Chavez’s legacy will continue to live on.