Annual Cesar Chavez Day celebration upcoming at UNL

The Office of Academic Support and Intercultural Services at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln will host its annual Cesar Chavez Day celebration at 6 p.m. March 31 in the Nebraska Union Ballroom, 1400 R St. The event is free and open to the public.

This year's Cesar Chavez Day celebration will recognize Waskar Ari, assistant professor of history and ethnic studies. Ari was hired by UNL in 2005, but while he was visiting his native Bolivia, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security delayed action on what it termed a "security check" in approving an H-1B visa (a non-immigrant work visa) to allow Ari to teach at UNL. It took nearly two years and a lawsuit before Ari was granted a work visa and allowed to assume his post at UNL. Ari arrived in Lincoln and began teaching in August 2007. His presentation for Cesar Chavez day is titled, "The Indian Law: Gender, Race and Nationalism in Bolivia's AMP Indigenous Activists, 1924-1964."

The celebration will open with a welcoming and honor song performed by members of the Standing Eagle Native American Drum Group. Festivities will conclude with a performance by the Andean musical group Kusi Taki, which performs music from Bolivia, Ecuador, Peru and Chile.

Chavez (1927-93), co-founder of the United Farm Workers Association, is most noted for his steadfast work in support of the rights of farm workers. Hailed as one of the greatest American civil rights leaders, his birthday (March 31) is a holiday in four U.S. states.