After seven years of struggles to rename a street after Cesar E. Chavez, a celebration committee named in honor of the late farm labor and civil rights advocate celebrated the dedication of a street in his name during the ninth annual Chavez march Saturday from 1 p.m. to 4 p.m.
The march, which began at the Cavazos Middle School parking lot and attracted approximately 300 participants, ended in the Buddy Holly Recreational Area, where the Cesar E. Chavez Drive dedication took place.
Christy Martinez-Garcia, chair of the Cesar E. Chavez Commemoration Committee, said Canyon Lake Drive officially was renamed after Chavez on Thursday, Chavez's birthday, after approval by the Lubbock City Council earlier this year.
"It was a seven-year effort, waiting for the street to be renamed," Martinez-Garcia said. "Some city council members told us to reorganize our priority; this is our priority, we still have a lot of farm workers' struggles and issues."
Though she said her committee received nearly 5,000 signatures from people in the community, she believes Chavez was a humble and simple man and who did not need a big street named after him.
Martinez-Garcia said the street goes through an area that, in the past, was called "Mexican town," an area many Hispanics first moved into in Lubbock.
The son of migrant laborers, Chavez led a nonviolent boycott against California grape growers and protested against poor working conditions and the use of pesticides that were harmful to farm workers, she said.
Ruby Gonzales, president elect of the Hispanic Association of Women, said she attended the event to show support and because she used to work in the Lubbock Independent School District with migrant students.
"They are really smart," Gonzales said, "and with a little encouragement, they can succeed."
Margie Olivarez, president of the Hispanic Association of Women, said her mother's side of the family went through hard times, like Chavez, as migrant workers, and their experience is what motivates her to support the event.
Olivarez said she believes it is important to continue awareness especially among the youth so they do not forget the struggles and people who have paved the way with migrant worker issues.
"Having a street of a Hispanic individual reminds us that anything is possible," Olivarez said.
Julio Valdez, a freshman architecture and business major from Dallas and a member of the Tech Hispanic Student Society, participated in the march with other members of the organization.
Valdez said people were chanting phrases, including "Si Se Puede," as they marched.
"It was a long, seven-year crusade," he said, "to where this was the first year we got to walk onto the Cesar E. Chavez street."
Martinez-Garcia said she is proud of Chavez and glad to finally see the street.
"Si se puede (means) 'it can be done'," she said. "When you have tenacity and determination, something of this magnitude can be done."
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