Photo credit: @Athletics
By: Amaury Pi-Gonzalez
On Saturday March 31st, the Oakland Athletics will be celebrating a special day for César Chávez, the ex-UFW (United Farm Worker) leader. Over 200 members of his family, including his sister and son, will be there on the field for the ceremonial first pitch.
It is about time a Bay Area sports team chose to recognize such a great leader, which I happened to interview in the late 1970s in Salinas, for KOFY 1050 AM Radio Bay Area, during one of his famous marches.
Chávez co-founded the National Farm Workers Association. He was a very strong activist who defended the rights of legal migrant workers, who had to have a permit to come from Mexico and work on the fields back in the day. He was a man of great integrity and dignity. He passed in 1993, but members of his family will be honored on this special day at the Oakland Coliseum, home of the Oakland A’s, who are celebrating their 50th Anniversary in Oakland.
As a Hispanic, I said: “about time this man gets the recognition he deserved” and I applaud the Oakland A’s for being the first professional MLB team to do so.
Saludos,
Amaury Pi-Gonzalez
Sports Radio Service 