Cesar Chavez Display for Hispanic Heritage Month at SCCC.

In celebration of National Hispanic Heritage Month, Seward County Community College Library and Student Services will present the exhibit “In His Own Words: The Life and Work of César Chávez” beginning Monday, September 15 through October 15.

Throughout his youth and into young adulthood, Chávez experienced the hardships of being a migrant farm worker and the sting of racial discrimination. Motivated by a dream of justice and equality, he dedicated himself to community organizing activities and, later, to founding the first farm workers’ union. Utilizing strikes, boycotts, marches and other nonviolent tactics, Chávez worked tirelessly to secure better pay, job safety, improved living conditions and other essential protections for farm workers.

The exhibition features 38 photographs paired with excerpts from his dynamic speeches, interviews, and authoritative writings. “In His Own Words” documents the full course of Chávez’s remarkable career and examines the life experiences and philosophical influences that drove him to dedicate himself fully to improving the lives of American farm workers.

The photographs will be displayed throughout the college in the Hobble Academic and Shank Humanities Buildings.

Hispanic Heritage Month started in 1968 as Hispanic Heritage Week under President Lyndon Johnson and was expanded by President Ronald Reagan in 1988 to cover a 30-day period starting on September 15 and ending on October 15. It was enacted into law on August 17, 1988.

“In His Own Words” is an exhibition by Humanities Texas, state affiliate of the National Endowment for the Humanities, curated in collaboration with John C. Hammerback, PhD, affiliate faculty member in communication at the University of Washington.

In His Own Words is made possible in part by a We the People grant from the National Endowment for the Humanities.

For more information, contact the SCCC Library at (620) 417-1160.