What an East San Jose nonprofit plans to do with historic Cesar Chavez home

The brown stucco home on Scharff Avenue appears like most of the others on the block in San Jose’s Mayfair neighborhood, the identical space as soon as infamously often called “Sal si puedes,” or “Get out if you happen to can,” with a browning garden surrounded by a chain-link fence and purple brick pillars.

However just like the storage the place Hewlett Packard was born or the downtown San Jose home the place the observe stars of “Pace Metropolis” lived, the location has a historical past a lot bigger than its humble look.

This was the place legendary labor chief Cesar Chavez lived through the childhood earlier than he launched what grew to become United Farm Staff. And Friday morning, it was the place a big group of neighborhood leaders and activists gathered to have fun the property’s impending sale to Amigos de Guadalupe Middle for Justice and Empowerment.

“We're so proud to name ourselves the brand new homeowners of the Cesar Chavez household residence,” stated Maritza Maldonado, founding govt director of the group. “This neighborhood has a lot of fantastic heroes and heroines which have paved the best way for folks like me, however extra importantly for generations to come back. That’s why it was so essential for us to elevate up Cesar Chavez and the fantastic work of your complete Chavez household.”

SAN JOSE, CALIFORNIA - JULY 29: Maritza Maldonado, the Executive Director of Amigos de Guadalupe speaks, as the nonprofit officially announced the $1.1 million purchase of the Cesar Chavez family home in East San Jose on Friday, July 29, 2022. The city landmark, where the legendary labor leader lived will become a living museum, according to the nonprofit. (Wangyuxuan Xu/Bay Area News Group)
SAN JOSE, CALIFORNIA – JULY 29: Maritza Maldonado, the Govt Director of Amigos de Guadalupe speaks, because the nonprofit formally introduced the $1.1 million buy of the Cesar Chavez household residence in East San Jose on Friday, July 29, 2022. Town landmark, the place the legendary labor chief lived will change into a residing museum, based on the nonprofit. (Wangyuxuan Xu/Bay Space Information Group) 

The nonprofit group’s buy of the home for about $1.1 million occurred shortly after it went available on the market in late Could. Maldonado stated it “was the simplest million dollars I’ve raised in my complete life,” highlighting contributions by Sobrato Philanthropies, John Matthew and Andie Sobrato, the Leo M. Shortino Household Basis, the Heising-Simon Basis, the Silicon Valley Group Basis and town of San Jose.

“They noticed the imaginative and prescient and stated ‘Rely me in,’ ” Maldonado stated.

Speaker after speaker — together with the Rev. Jon Pedigo, Metropolis Councilwoman Magdalena Carrasco and UFW Nationwide Vice President Lauro Bajaras — extolled the significance of preserving the property, which was declared a metropolis landmark in 1994, a yr after Chavez’s demise. A plaque stands within the entrance yard, and an indication on the sidewalk declares it a part of the Cesar Chavez Memorial Walkway, which connects it to different historic websites, together with Our Woman of Guadalupe Church’s McDonnell Corridor, the place Chavez first organized with members of the Group Providers Group within the Fifties and ’60s.

Maldonado stated the house can be remodeled right into a residing museum and an interpretive studying heart, offering area the place residents can meet to assist form coverage of their neighborhood. After the acquisition is accomplished, the following step can be a visioning course of to learn how stakeholders and neighbors wish to see that realized — whereas additionally elevating funds for the undertaking. (Extra info is out there at www.tinyurl.com/amigoschavezhome.

SAN JOSE, CALIFORNIA - JULY 29: Family, friends and community leaders gather together, as Amigos de Guadalupe officially announced the $1.1 million purchase of the Cesar Chavez family home in East San Jose on Friday, July 29, 2022. The city landmark, where the legendary labor leader lived will become a living museum, ac the Cesar Chavez Family House, celebrating this city landmark to become community center in East San Jose on Friday, July 29, 2022. (Wangyuxuan Xu/Bay Area News Group)
SAN JOSE, CALIFORNIA – JULY 29: Household, mates and neighborhood leaders collect collectively, as Amigos de Guadalupe formally introduced the $1.1 million buy of the Cesar Chavez household residence in East San Jose on Friday, July 29, 2022. Town landmark, the place the legendary labor chief lived will change into a residing museum, ac the Cesar Chavez Household Home, celebrating this metropolis landmark to change into neighborhood heart in East San Jose on Friday, July 29, 2022. (Wangyuxuan Xu/Bay Space Information Group) 

An attention-grabbing quirk to the historic nature of the occasion is that the home presently on the Scharff Avenue tackle is just not the identical one Chavez and his spouse, Helen, lived in from 1951 to 1953 whereas he labored within the apricot orchards close by. In 2007, Chavez’s brother, Librado Chavez, who has since handed away, stated that tiny construction was torn down and changed with the present duplex, which has remained within the Chavez household for all these many years. However to those that imagine Chavez’s legacy transcends wooden and nails, that's only a little bit of historic trivia.

“It can be crucial that the Mayfair neighborhood work collectively to result in change, and what higher place to find out about our previous, to enhance our future, than right here at 53 Scharff Ave.?” stated Teresa Andrade, Cesar Chavez’s niece. “We’re simply so completely satisfied that the property can be preserved, demonstrating the legacy of Cesar Chavez, the Chavez households and the pursuit for social justice. This endlessly stays a presence within the metropolis of San Jose.”

‘STAR TREK’ SURPRISE: William Shatner just lately made a cease in Gilroy and realized a bit extra concerning the folks there than their penchant for garlic. ABC7 reported that the “Star Trek” star stopped by the Fruit Barn on Pacheco Cross Freeway earlier this month and left his pockets behind. It was found by the teenager daughter of Gary Tognetti, proprietor of Gilroy’s B&T Farms, who contacted the Gilroy Police Division to learn how to get the pockets to Capt. Kirk himself.

Shatner tweeted concerning the incident on Tuesday, thanking Tognetti and his daughter “for his or her excessive honesty in returning my pockets.” He additionally gave a shout-out to Officer Mark Tarasco and Sgt. John Ballard for his or her help.

DOCUMENTARY ON DEMAND: BAYMEC Basis Govt Director Ken Yeager dropped me a line to unfold the phrase that “Queer Silicon Valley,” the documentary the muse produced with award-winning documentarian Bob Gliner, is now obtainable to view on YouTube. The 75-minute movie is a tribute to the LGBTQ activists who led the best way in San Jose and Silicon Valley beginning within the Seventies. And if you happen to’re seeking to dive in deeper after watching it, there are extra tales at www.queersiliconvalley.org.

TIME TO GET NEIGHBORLY: Don’t overlook that Aug. 2 is Nationwide Night time Out, the annual occasion throughout which neighborhoods are inspired to assemble and get to know one another. Some neighborhoods go all out with ice cream socials, bounce homes and potluck dinners. Law enforcement officials are additionally anticipated to cease by many occasions to get to know residents of their neighborhoods. After two years of COVID-19, it’s not a nasty time to get to know the neighbors once more.

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