By Melanie Johnson
DAVIS, CA – Last Thursday night, the Davis Human Relations Commission met to brainstorm ideas for the annual Cesar Chavez Celebration, which will be held at the Davis Farmers Market on Saturday, April 2 from 10:30 am to 12:30 pm.
Staff liaison Carrie Dyer introduced potential entertainers and activities which could be a part of the celebration.
The options include returning performances by Mariachi Puente – a local Davis music group, and Adelita Serena – an Aztec dancer and Yolo County resident, as well as information booths provided by organizations such as the Phoenix Coalition and Empower Yolo.
A new group which Dyer wanted to include in the upcoming celebration is Latinos Unidos, a club at Davis Senior High School.
She suggested that Latinos Unidos could “share information about their group” and possibly be involved in “a youth activity where the city could provide all of the supplies and stuff but maybe that some of the high school students would want to engage with some of the younger kids that would be out there, to bring them in to learn more about their club and maybe do a fun activity.”
Commissioner Edgar Wong-Chen added the suggestion, “I would really love to have testimonials from farm workers who are currently in the field.”
He elaborated that, “I feel like all this work that is being put in is very artistic and I think celebratory but I think there’s a lot of messaging that also needs to be brought up about advocacy, labor activism, immigrant activism, the struggles of current immigrants.”
Wong-Chen further stated that “what we should highlight of what Cesar Chavez fought for is the amount of coalition building that was done. I think that’s a piece that we should integrate into the day.”
Public commenter Connor Gorman offered his support of Wong-Chen’s suggestions, adding that, “I think really tying this into current modern struggles and how those are related to the legacies and histories involved here is really important, especially around current labor organizing and specifically anti-racist labor organizing.”
Following their discussion, the commission voted unanimously to form a subcommittee regarding further planning of the event in order to incorporate the suggestions brought forward.
