A bill designating the first Friday of every April as “Dennis Chavez and Cesar Chavez Day” cleared the House of Representatives on Monday and now heads to the state Senate.
The New Mexico-born Dennis Chavez served in the U.S. Senate from 1935 to 1962 and earned a reputation as a defender of Mexican-Americans civil rights.
The Yuma, Arizona-born Cesar Chavez co-founded the United Farm Workers of America with Dolores Huerta and the pair organized boycotts and strikes to push for better working conditions for farmworkers.
New Mexico Rep. Miguel P. Garcia, a Democrat, sponsored the proposal.