Chavez’s Name Is Lent to Learning

SANTA ANA — A son of the late labor leader Cesar E. Chavez called the dedication of a new building at Santa Ana College on Mexican Independence Day on Tuesday a fitting tribute to his father.

“The best way to honor his legacy is not only by naming parks, streets and buildings after him but by being active in your community,” said Chavez’s 40-year-old son, Paul F. Chavez, of La Paz, Calif. “My father knew his work would not be finished in his lifetime. He knew that it would take a long-term commitment.”

That commitment can be met in business and technology and various other ways, he added. “So, it’s very fitting that this building is named after him.”

The new building, named Cesar E. Chavez Business and Computer Center, honors the man who dedicated his life to fighting for the rights of migrant farm workers.

It is the latest of 46 places, including schools, parks, streets, libraries and plazas throughout the country, that bear the name of the man who founded the United Farm Workers union, according to the Cesar Chavez Foundation.

Chavez, who died in 1993, was known for leading consumer boycotts of farm products, including the grape boycott of the late 1960s, and staging hunger strikes to publicize the working conditions of Central Valley farm workers.

The long-awaited opening of the new college building was greeted with proclamations, an Aztec blessing and Mexican folkloric dancing.

An altar with pictures of Chavez, the United Farm Workers flag, a Mexican flag and other memorabilia was set up inside the building and a mural painted by local artist Emigdio Vasquez covers a wall.

The two-story, 53,000-square-foot building houses the business and computer departments.

The opening came a year late due to construction problems. In a recent settlement with the contractor, Swinerton and Walberberg Construction Co., over the delays, the district won a $375,000 discount in the cost of the construction, which totaled $12.4 million.

Several students said they were proud of the building and mural and, especially, the name.

“He led a lot of people, the oppressed,” said Sandra Lynch, a 45-year-old business student. “He was another Martin Luther King.”

At the dedication ceremony, student Gerardo Rodriguez, 22, recited a prayer that Chavez wrote.

“Help us love even those who hate us, so we can change the world.”

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Wide Recognition

California has 27 cities with schools, plazas, libraries, parks or streets named after Cesar E. Chavez:

Bakersfield

Berkeley

Brentwood

Coachella

Delano

Gilroy

Hayward

Inglewood

Long Beach

Los Altos

Los Angeles

Lynwood

Montebello

Norwalk

Oxnard

Palo Alto

Parlier

Perris

Richmond

Salinas

San Diego

San Jose

Santa Ana

Santa Lucia

Stockton

Tulare

Union City

Source: Cesar E. Chavez Foundation