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Modesto Bee April 2nd, 2006
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Rally melds Chávez tribute, environmental protest By SUSAN HERENDEENBEE PATTERSON — Activists took to the streets here Saturday morning, marching down East Las Palmas Avenue, about 250 strong, chanting 'Viva Chávez' and 'Sí se puede' and 'We want clean air.' The trail ended at North Park, where participants held a rally in honor of César Chávez, the man whose nonviolent protests brought bathroom breaks and drinking water to farmworkers. There was little talk of grape strikes or union contracts, the work that made Chávez and his United Farm Workers union famous 40 years ago. Instead, speakers wanted to focus on environmental justice. Participants said they are worried about emissions from the Covanta Stanislaus Inc. plant, an incinerator at a landfill along Interstate 5, which meets federal and regional air-pollution requirements. Organizers said Stanislaus County should launch a better recycling program, so it can reduce the amount of trash that must be burned. They also passed out postcards addressed to the Board of Supervisors. Grayson's Rosenda Mataka, who spearheaded the event, said organizers melded the two themes, a memorial to a hero and concerns about the environment, because they think Chávez would have done the same. 'César Chávez Day is supposed to be a day of action,' she said. César Chávez Day, a state holiday, fell on Friday this year. Thirteen years after the union leader's death, his rallying cry, 'Si se puede' or 'Yes, we can' remains a hallmark of the farmworkers movement. In Patterson, the commemorative day began with a march from Felipe Garza Park to North Park. After the rally, a smaller crowd drove to the Covanta plant for an afternoon demonstration. Clean air is a particularly touchy subject on the county's West Side, where residents remember a tire fire that smoldered for weeks in 1999, leading to a massive cleanup effort and lots of litigation. More than 5 million tires burned for 34 days after lightning struck a pile at a tireburning plant. A black blanket of smoke spread across the valley and into the foothills. Keith Douglas Warner, a professor at Santa Clara University, said the Patterson area provides a case study for the environmental justice movement, because several polluting entities are gathered in one place. Warner, who took part in the rally, said low-income communities with many minorities offer the least resistance when undesirable businesses seek to set up shop. 'The burdens of pollution need to be shared equitably,' said Warner, who brings his students on field trips to Patterson. Carina Morales, 8, of Patterson said she worries about the air because her brothers have asthma, and her mother thinks dioxins from the incinerator could be the cause. The outspoken third-grader also knew that Chávez lived in Delano and led many people on marches. She thinks her town needs a man like him. 'We want to know more about him,' Carina said. Fernando Quintana, 17, said he was a bit confused by the dual nature of the event, which he attended to honor Chávez. He said he is more worried about immigration bills being discussed in Washington, D.C., which have led to widespread student protests in the past week. Like other detractors, he believes a bill approved by the House of Representatives is aimed at 'criminalizing' about 12 million undocumented immigrants. He thinks those workers deserve amnesty. 'People shouldn't be called criminals just because they crossed the border to live better,' said Quintana, a senior at Patterson High School. Many people in the crowd wore white shirts with the Huelga bird, the symbol of the UFW. Speeches were given in Spanish and English and there was plenty of 'Spanglish' spoken in the crowd. Somehow, Chávez was a unifying force for their varied concerns. Luis Molina, a school readiness coordinator with the Stanislaus County Office of Education, said he would like to see smarter dialogue on immigration, rather than angry talk. He urged participants to learn their history and get involved in community activities. 'Today shouldn't be just one day that you get involved,' Molina said. 'It should be the beginning of a lifetime of involvement.' |