Chavez legacy to be celebrated with documentary, panel on American dream

The life and legacy of Cesar Chavez will be celebrated with a panel discussion and presentation of the documentary, "We the People: An American Dream and Nightmare," by Luis Peon-Casanova, 6 p.m. March 24 at the Nebraska Union, 1400 R St., at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln.

The presentation begins with the showing of the documentary, followed by a panel discussion. It is free and open to the public.

Cesar Estrada Chavez was a Mexican-American farm worker who became a labor rights leader and civil rights activist who fought for improvements for union laborers and for Latino civil rights, most famously, for the 1965 grape strikes for higher wages for grape pickers in California. Chavez died April 23, 1993, in San Luis, Ariz. His birthday, March 31, is celebrated in California as a state holiday. Texas also recognizes the day, and it is an optional holiday in Arizona and Colorado. He was nominated three times for the Nobel Peace Prize and was inducted into the California Hall of Fame.

"We The People: An American Dream and Nightmare," a documentary on immigration, looks at legal and illegal immigration from Mexico to the United States and the popular and political responses to the issue.

Luis Peon-Casanova, assistant professor of advertising in the UNL College of Journalism and Mass Communications, produced the 55-minute documentary as part of his thesis project. A Mexican immigrant, Peon took the oath of American citizenship on Dec. 7, 2007. The documentary gives a brief historical background about the long history of immigration in the United States and looks at two central issues of legal and illegal immigration following the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks on the United States -- national security and immigration reform. Peon interviewed scholars, politicians, citizens, immigration officials and immigrants. The documentary offers social commentary about the issues surrounding immigration prior to a presidential election year.