School walkouts seek to hike status of Chavez holiday

In what has become an annual rite to honor the late civil rights leader Cesar Chavez – and protest the fact that his namesake holiday does not extend to schools – students at Hiram Johnson and Luther Burbank high schools plan to walk out of their classrooms today as part of a movement among youths across the state.

Organizers have called for a massive school boycott, and said in a statement that students in Los Angeles, the Bay Area and Sacramento plan to march in honor of Chavez's legacy.

"We demand the opportunity to celebrate who we are," Hiram Johnson High School student Randy Lopez said in a statement. "Our schools could build up our pride and self-worth through events like celebrating the Chavez holiday, but this doesn't happen. Instead, our communities are treated as invisible by our schools."

But a Chavez family member reached Sunday said the expected walkout caused him concern, and he offered an alternative way to pay homage.

"The best way to honor Cesar Chavez is to make it a 'day on,' not a 'day off,' " Anthony Chavez, grandson of Cesar Chavez, told The Bee. "We really want our students to be involved … there are still many things we need to work on."

The younger Chavez, who will speak at Genevieve Didion School in Sacramento today, said these days it is especially important for students to stay in school and maximize their education.

Maria Lopez, spokeswoman for the Sacramento City Unified School District, encouraged students to stay on campus and find ways to celebrate Cesar Chavez with their teachers and classmates.

"The overall message is that Cesar Chavez was a man of service to others; he values giving back and education," Lopez said. "That's a message we hope students remember, staying on campus, learning and remembering others. Turn it into a teaching moment."

Students who choose to leave school without their parents' permission will be considered truant, Lopez said.

One of the lead organizers behind today's boycott said the student protests are meant to give the Cesar Chavez holiday the same level of recognition as Presidents Day and Martin Luther King Jr. Day.

"This has been a holiday for eight years … and the vast majority of schools in this state just completely ignore that legislation, and it's really an insult," said Yvette Felarca of the Oakland-based Coalition to Defend Affirmative Action Integration & Immigrant Rights and Fight for Equality by Any Means Necessary.

California lawmakers established Chavez's birthday as an official holiday in 2000, giving state employees a paid day off. Schools remain in session.

Last year, more than 100 students walked out of Hiram Johnson on a march to the Capitol, shouting Chavez's signature slogan, "Si, se puede!" (Yes, it can be done) and hoisting handmade signs.

Today's rally is scheduled to start at 8:15 a.m. at Luther Burbank and 9:25 a.m. at Hiram Johnson. Students are expected to join other demonstrators at Cesar Chavez Park downtown.

Chavez is remembered as one of the great American activists, leading a nationwide grape boycott in the 1960s that improved working conditions and wages for farm workers and helped spark the Latino civil rights movement. He died in 1993.

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