Biden Places Bust of Cesar Chavez In Oval Office, But We Want More…

The symbolism is inspiring and encouraging. A bust of civil rights leader Cesar Chavez now sits in the oval office. Chavez was an icon, a man of the same ilk as Martin Luther King Jr. He organized Mexican and (Filipino) farmworkers into the National Farm Workers Association (NFWA), which later merged with the Agricultural Workers Organizing Committee (AWOC) to become the United Farm Workers (UFW) labor union. Chavez led with peaceful demonstrations and economic force (including boycotts and general farm worker strikes), but his most famous protest was by hunger strike. He publicly stated that in doing so he was reaffirming his commitment to peaceful protest and presented it as a form of penance.

President Biden’s personal touches coming with his arrival into the Oval Office include replacing a portrait of President Andrew Jackson and adding the bust of Cesar Chavez behind the Resolute Desk, according to The Washington Post.

The new layout includes busts of Martin Luther King Jr. and Robert F. Kennedy on either side of the fireplace as well as the Chavez bust. Other busts in the office include Rosa Parks and Eleanor Roosevelt. For the Latinx community, the symbolic gesture is noted and greatly appreciated. It means our history is being acknowledge by our new leader as American history. But symbolic gestures only go so far.

President Biden has promised those impacted by the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) immigration policy a new pathway to citizenship. These are people who were brought to the U.S. as kids, and grew up here as Americans. They must not be deported for issues that were out of their control. Throwing them out does not represent American values. They must be given the opportunity to stay in the only country they know. We want to see that promise in action. It’s what Cesar Chavez would have wanted.