Proclamation 8884 of October 8, 2012
Establishment of the César E. Chávez National Monument
By the President of the United States of America
A Proclamation
The property in Keene, California, known as Nuestra Señora Reina de la Paz (Our Lady Queen of Peace) (La Paz), is recognized for its historic significance to Cé sar Estrada Chá vez and the farm worker movement. César Chávez is one of the most revered civil rights leaders in the history of the United States. From humble beginnings in Yuma, Arizona, to the founding of the United Farm Workers (UFW) movement, César Chávez knew first- hand the hard work of farm workers in the fields across the United States and their contribution to feeding the Nation. He saw and experienced the difficult conditions and hardships that confronted farm worker families. And through his hard work, perseverance, and personal sacrifice, he dedicated his life to the struggle for respect and dignity for the farm workers of America.
His faith, his passion for nonviolence rooted in the teachings of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., and Mohandas Gandhi, and his inspirational leadership are best reflected in his own eloquent words: "When the man who feeds the world by toiling in the fields is himself deprived of the basic rights of feeding, sheltering, and caring for his own family, the whole community of man is sick."
La Paz served as the national headquarters of the UFW and the home and workplace of César Chávez, his family, union members, and supporters. It remains the symbol of the movement’s most significant achievements and its expanding horizons.
In 1972, the UFW made La Paz its official national headquarters. With existing residential buildings, administrative spaces, maintenance shops, and supporting infrastructure from its former use as a tuberculosis sanatorium, the property supported a new community almost immediately. César Chá vez and his family moved to the property, as did a fluctuating population of union employees, members, and supporters.
From the 1970s through Cé sar Chá vez death in 1993, La Paz was at the forefront of the American farm worker movement. Thousands of farm workers and their supporters from California and across the country streamed through La Paz to meet with movement leaders, learn from other farm workers, devise strategies, negotiate contracts, receive training, volunteer their time, and celebrate meaningful events. Throughout this period, La Paz became a symbol of the accomplishments and broadening of the American farm worker movement.
At La Paz, members of the farm worker movement celebrated such victories as the passage of the Agricultural Labor Relations Act of 1975, the first Federal law recognizing farm workers’ collective bargaining rights. At La Paz, the UFW grew and expanded from its early roots as a union for farm workers to become a national voice for the poor and disenfranchised.
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