TO: Campus Community
FR: Jerlena Griffin-Desta, Ph.D.
Today we take a rest from our labor in honor of César Chávez, one of the most influential
leaders for social change and justice in U.S. history. Chávez, who would be 96 today, spent most
of his 66 years working to bring economic stability, civil equity, and political power to some of
the poorest, most socially vulnerable, and legally unprotected Americans.
Farm workers, most of whom were also people of color, were not protected by wage requirements or legally allowed to join unions. As Chávez once said, “It’s ironic that those who till the soil, cultivate and harvest the fruits, vegetables, and other foods that fill your tables with abundance have nothing left for themselves.” Inspired by Gandhi, Martin Luther King, Jr., and St. Francis, among others, Chávez employed non-violent methods of protest and advocacy to raise awareness and foster social change. He also worked to ensure that his movement manifested his core values, including respect for life and the environment, service to others, celebrating community, and acceptance of all people. As a Hispanic-Serving Institution, Sonoma State seeks to advance his legacy and ideals of non-violent social justice.
Chávez, and the esteemed Delores Huerta, worked with prominent politicians, civil liberties organizations, and other community leaders to raise awareness, empower workers, transform labor practices and laws, and foster greater civic education and participation. He was an especially strong advocate for the LGBT (now LBGTQIA+) community. Indeed, Chávez was the first influential civil rights figure to openly support the civil rights of the LGBTQIA+ community, even serving as a grand marshal at the 1987 Second National March on Washington for Lesbian and Gay Rights. "How could you demand equality for your own people while tolerating discrimination against anyone else because of who they are?”, he asked the 200,000 attendees.
So, it is a fortunate coincidence that today we also celebrate the International Transgender Day
of Visibility. In his official proclamation, President Biden affirms that “[t]oday, we show millions
of transgender and nonbinary Americans that we see them, they belong, and they should be
treated with dignity and respect. . . Every American deserves that freedom.” With more than
1.6 million trans teens and adults in the U.S. alone, the community is large and diverse,
although still subject to pervasive violence, unjustly blamed for a plethora of projected societal
harms simply for living a life of personal integrity and authentic identity.
The ability to be seen as you are, to be acknowledged and included and loved openly and
without stigma, is such a profoundly basic element of our democratic social contract that
excluding people from this protection simply because of their gender identity (or sexual
identity, or race, or religion, etc.) seems patently ridiculous and cruel. Unfortunately, though, it
is a very real issue, and one that our Sonoma State community must vigilantly stand up against.
Whatever our disagreements may be, we should all be advocates of knowledge and learning
–critical thinkers open to difficult dialogues. We can also – in the spirit of César Chávez - be
good allies of the transgender community and agents for positive social change, simply by living
a life of personal integrity and authentic identity. As Chávez said, “[t]he love of justice that is in
us is not only the best part of our being, but also the most true to our nature.”