On March 29, Michigan State University celebrated 15 years of hosting the César Chávez and Dolores Huerta Commemorative Celebration, honoring the two prominent civil rights leaders.
The MSU, East Lansing and Greater Lansing communities gathered at the Kellogg Hotel and Conference Center to celebrate the legacies of Chávez and Huerta and their work advocating for change for the Latine community and farmworkers.
“Today we honor the millions of farmworkers who feed America,” said Elias Lopez, co-chair of the César Chávez and Dolores Huerta Commemorative Celebration planning committee and the senior associate director of Migrant Student Services’ College Assistance Migrant Program, or CAMP.
Chávez was a prominent labor leader and civil rights activist, dedicated to advocating for farmworkers, including migrant laborers. He fought hard for better pay, working conditions and rights for those in the fields. Huerta joined him in these efforts, co-founding the United Farm Workers with Chávez. They were at the forefront of the farm workers' movement in the 1960s and ’70s.
The theme of the 2025 celebration was “De Aqui Y de Allá: Celebrating 15 Years of Empowerment, Community and Culture.” Translated, it means “From Here and From There.”
“Further, with this theme, we aim to highlight the diverse strength of the Latino and farmworker communities and the allies who stand in solidarity to raise awareness of the contributions, opportunities, issues and challenges both ongoing and newly surfacing,” said Amanda Flores, co-chair of the event committee and associate director of the Office of Diversity, Inclusion and Community Partnerships in the College of Education.
The annual celebration is hosted during National Farmworker Awareness Week, March 25 through April 1, which honors the daily contributions farmworkers make to the country’s food system. César Chávez Day is celebrated on March 31.
Following an event welcome and the start of dinner, attendees heard from local farmworker Paulino Martinez, who sat down with Migrant Student Services Director Luis Alonzo Garcia for a discussion on the importance and impact of migrant farmworkers. The planning committee incorporated this spotlight as a way to honor the 15th anniversary of the celebration. Martinez is the owner and operator of Martinez Harvesting, a large farm in Conklin, Michigan, that harvests various apples and summer squash. He immigrated to the U.S. from Mexico in the early 1990s seeking better work opportunities. After traveling across the country for many years, he arrived at the Rolling Acres apple orchard in 2005, later becoming the owner in 2013.
Lisa Ramírez, director of the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Office of Partnerships and Public Engagement, served as the event’s keynote speaker. She shared her story of resilience and strength growing up the daughter of a single mother and migrant worker and becoming a migrant worker herself.
She began a career in the U.S. Army Reserves and later went to college thanks to the financial assistance of the GI Bill. After graduating, Ramírez became a teacher in 1992 and worked her way up to assistant principal and principal. She opened the Lubbock Independent School District’s first charter campus, the Ramírez Charter School, in 2004. Becoming the director of the Office of Migrant Education in the Office of Elementary and Secondary Education, Ramírez’s government career grew until she began her current role in 2021.
The celebration has grown since its inception 15 years ago through the diverse strength of the Latine and farmworker communities and their allies who stand together to bring awareness to the ongoing and new contributions, opportunities, issues and challenges that migrant farmworker communities face.
Thomas Jeitschko, interim provost and executive vice president for academic affairs, who spoke during the celebration to further commemorate the two iconic U.S. labor leaders and civil rights advocates, said the work of Chávez and Huerta serves as reminders of the importance of standing up for justice and staying true to core values.
“We are a university that values the contribution of farmworkers and that welcomes students from farmworker families to become Spartans,” he said. “MSU has always strived to be a welcoming place that defines itself not by being exclusive, but rather by being a place of access and inclusion that makes conscious and deliberate efforts to make everyone feel welcome and supported.”
Several members and leaders of the MSU Latine community were honored with awards during the celebration. The awards presented to MSU students, faculty and staff, and community members include:
- Alejandra Márquez, assistant professor of Spanish in the Department of Romance and Classical Studies in the College of Arts and Letters, was honored with the Plantando Semillas Award (MSU Faculty of the Year)
- Aleida Martinez, student services coordinator of CAMP, was honored with the Chávez Humanitarian Award (MSU Staff of the Year)
- Culturas de las Razas Unidas, which is the MSU Council of Racial and Ethnic Students Hispanic/Latine student organization, was honored with the Cosechando Raices Award (MSU Student Organization of the Year)
- Karissa Zarate was honored with the Aguila Award (MSU Student of the Year)
- Sofia Mireles Gonzalez was honored with the Aguila Award (MSU Student of the Year)
- Lorena Aguayo-Márquez, community impact manager for WGVU Public Media, was honored with the Guerrero/A Award (Community Member)
- Movimiento Cosecha, a nonviolent movement seeking to win permanent protection, dignity and respect for the millions of undocumented immigrants in the U.S., was honored with the Orgullo Del Pueblo Award (Community Organization)
Learn more about the awards and award recipients.
Following the presentations and award recognitions, guests enjoyed baile (a social gathering for dance) with music by Los Gueros Ibarra, a local Lansing Tejano band. The event was well attended and served as a great opportunity to increase awareness, celebrate leaders and continue building community among several groups on campus and in the local area.