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Cesar Chavez And JLo: Biden Ushers In New Era Of Hope For Latinos By Alina DIESTE
01/22/21 AT 9:04 PM
A bust of labor rights organizer Cesar Chavez in the Oval Office, the return of Spanish to the White House website and Jennifer Lopez singing at the inauguration ceremony: Joe Biden s presidency is only in its infancy but already it heralds a new era for Latinos in the United States.
From the start, the Democratic president has embraced full recognition of the country s largest minority.
Invited as a star turn at Biden s inauguration at the US Capitol, New York diva Jennifer Lopez whose parents hail from Puerto Rico made a splash with her cry in Spanish: One nation under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all!
By Sandra G. Leon
César Chávez talks to striking Salinas Valley farm workers at a rally in 1979. Paul Sakuma, Associated Press, March 7, 1979
Friday, March 31st, is César Chávez Day in California, the only state in the country that has made an official state holiday to honor the late civil rights leader.
Chávez died in 1993, but his legacy of organizing farmer workers and advocating for better pay and working conditions for them has made him a hero to Latinos, and a civil rights icon that is generally recognized along with other historically important leaders, including Martin Luther King, Jr.
Credit: The White House
As a new federal administration begins to take shape under President Joe Biden, a growing list of University of California-affiliated alumni and faculty have been nominated or appointed to positions in the new government.
California native Kamala Harris, a graduate of UC Hastings College of Law, is undoubtedly the most prominent of these new faces. With her swearing-in on Jan. 20, she becomes the first UC-affiliated person to ever hold the vice presidency. Dozens of UC-affiliated people, representing virtually all UC campuses, have been tapped to serve in the new administration.
Public service is one of the three core elements of UC’s mission, and these former UC faculty and alumni manifest this mission at its highest level.
Many Latino leaders say Chavez's bust at the Oval Office symbolizes Biden's commitment to the Latino community and marks the beginning of a new relationship with a president they hope is far less adversarial than his predecessor.