Christine Chavez was only four years old when she was arrested for the first time with her grandfather, Cesar Chavez, while picketing outside a Detroit supermarket in support of the grape boycott. Since that time, she has a made a lifetime commitment to public service, animal rights and the labor movement.
She has gone on to become the political director for the United Farm Workers for eight years, the same political organization that her grandfather founded, and to serve as the District Director for State Senate Majority Leader Gloria Romero.
In 2004, Latina Magazine named her as one of their top Latinas of the year for her longtime involvement with civil rights issues – in particular her recent work to give same sex couples to right to marry under the law.
“Currently, there are more Latino same-sex couples in California than in any other state,” she stated on behalf of the Freedom to Marry Coalition. “More than 40 percent of same-sex couples in California identify as Latino – with the vast majority raising children. And as we see the Latino population continuing to grow, we could see in the next 5-10 years Latino same-sex couples as the largest population of LGBT families in California that will be negatively affected by marriage discrimination.”
On April 17th, she will participate in the CSULB LGBT Diversity week panel discussion on relationships and share how her grandfather’s activism influenced her support of Marriage Equality for same-sex couples and why she supports marriage equality as a heterosexual ally.
Later this month, Christine Chavez will speak to the Boeing Employee Association for Gays, Lesbians & Friends (BEAGALS) and the Boeing Hispanic Employees Network (BHEN) about her experiences with the Human Rights Commission and marriage equality legislative efforts on April 26th, from 12:00-1:00pm at The Boeing Company in Huntington Beach, CA.
The Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender (LGBT) Resource Center at California State University, Long Beach (CSULB) will host its first-ever LGBT Diversity Week April 16-19.