R. Chavez
As part of the Cesar Chavez Week celebration, Richard Chavez, brother of the late civil rights activist, visited Tucson on Thursday to participate in various events.
A couple of dozen Pima Community College students gathered at the patio of the Desert Vista Campus, 5901 S. Calle Santa Cruz, to listen to Richard Chavez speak and the Mariachi Club of Pima perform just before 6 p.m.
“I’m so honored to see you all honoring my brother and his legacy,” 79-year-old Richard Chavez said. “There isn’t one day that goes by that I don’t think about my brother and all the work he did.”
Cesar Chavez was the Arizona-born founder of the United Farm Workers.
He died at age 66 in 1993.
Cesar Chavez was a civil rights, farm worker, and labor leader; a religious and spiritual figure; a community servant and social entrepreneur; a crusader for nonviolent social change; and an environmentalist and consumer advocate, according to the Cesar Chavez foundation.
“My brother said 20 years ago that it was not good enough for the government to improve our wages, but he said we needed better education for our children,” Richard Chavez said. “And now we’re getting there. We’re on our way.”
University of Arizona student Angel Sanchez, 25, introduced Chavez to the crowd and said his visit to the campus was to recognize the legacy of Cesar Chavez.
“We need to educate others on (Cesar Chavez’) work, but focus on the present and what we can do now,” Sanchez said.
The Cesar Chavez Week celebration culminates in a march Saturday beginning at 9 a.m. at Pueblo Magnet High School, 3500 S. 12th Ave.
The march continues to Rudy Garcia Park, at the southeast corner of East Irvington Road and South Sixth Ave., where at noon there will be music, food and a speech by Richard Chavez.