Silver City, NM – Cesar Chavez Day will be commemorated on Monday, March 31 with several events at the Western New Mexico University campus.
Known as a day of service, and officially celebrated in nine states including Colorado, Texas and California, Cesar Chavez Day events begin at 6:00 a.m. in the MEChA Building with fasting and prayer for education. Simultaneously, videos, poetry and discussions via an open mic session will take place.
At 11:00 a.m., the Mustang Drumline will lead a campus-wide march for education and social justice. Marchers will make their way through several campus buildings encouraging students and community members to join. The march will end at the Student Memorial Building where a lunch will be served for $7.25.
At 12:00 p.m., speeches and music from the farm worker movement will occur while lunch is served in the Mustang Dining Hall.
The event will culminate in the Miller Library at 2:00 p.m. with a student performance of the short play Dos Caras Del Patroncito, originally performed by El Teatro Campesino in the fields during the farm worker rights movement.
Attention to the late civil rights leader has heightened in recent weeks with the upcoming release of Cesar Chavez, a biography of the labor organizer’s life that will premier nationwide on Friday, March 28.
WNMU hosted a panel forum on Thursday, March 20 commemorating Chavez’s life