[Grovenet] Cesar Chavez and streets

[David Morelli]

Portland is having a fine time arguing over the merits of renaming  
Interstate Avenue after Cesar Chavez.

I was asked if Cesar was a U. S. citizen.  I didn't know and did some  
research.  The heavy reading is available at

http://foia.fbi.gov/foiaindex/chavez.htm

Where the FBI determined that he was not a Communist, and they didn't  
relate him to any illegal activity.

Wikipedia provides a better read.  It claims that he was born in Yuma  
on land that had been settled by his grandfather.  He was arrested  
once for violating a "whites only" rule at a theater, and he served  
in the U.S. Navy in the Pacific during World War II.  Both qualify  
for heroic actions.

One thing that deserves comment, I believe, is that he was in favor  
of proper treatment of migrant workers while he was opposed to both  
illegal immigration and braceros programs of legal immigration.  He  
was in favor of a living wage for farm workers, which meant that he  
opposed bringing in cheap labor to drive wages down.

There are quite a few Presidential candidates who would agree with  
his stand on the border.  I wonder if any will catch the connection?

David