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Chavez Foundation Marks Groundbreaking for Affordable Housing Communities in Houston, TX

September 11, 2024, by CCF

Houston, TX – The Cesar Chavez Foundation, in partnership with Harris County Housing & Community Development, the Harris County Redevelopment Authority, and the Harris County Housing Finance Corporation, celebrated the start of new construction for much-needed affordable housing.

The contributions of this partnership will allow the Cesar Chavez Foundation, a vertically integrated nonprofit developer, to develop, construct, and operate the properties and maintain its affordability in perpetuity, as it does with all its properties. In keeping with CCF’s tradition, the housing communities are named after local civil rights champions. Construction is expected to be completed by ­­­­­­­­­­­December 2026.

“These projects are a critical addition to Houston, and we are honored to provide affordable housing for families and seniors in need. It’s fitting to name these properties after Frumencio Reyes Jr. and Felix Z. Fraga as a tribute to their relentless efforts and positive impact on the local community,” said Manuel Bernal, President of the Cesar Chavez Foundation. “Our mission is to uplift working families, and these developments represent a major advancement towards fulfilling that mission. Frumencio and Felix embodied Cesar Chavez’s values of social justice and community empowerment, and their dedication to creating lasting change continues to inspire us.”

The Urban Edge reported that “There are just over 33,000 affordable and available places to rent for the more than 217,000 extremely low-income renters in the area. About 83% of extremely low-income households are severely cost-burdened. The Kinder Institute for Urban Research’s 2023 State of Housing in Harris County and Houston report found that from 2015 to 2021, monthly rent prices outpaced median household income increases.”

“Harris County Housing & Community Development (HCD) is proud to partner alongside the Cesar Chavez Foundation, Harris County Redevelopment Authority, and the Harris County Housing Finance Corporation to provide vital affordable housing to low-to-moderate-income households. These projects will forever change the lives of many people who will benefit from stable, affordable housing in Harris County. The impact of providing affordable housing in Harris County is felt throughout the entire community and will have lasting effects for many years to come,” says Thao Costis, Executive Director of Harris County Housing & Community Development.

HCD has played a pivotal role in securing and investing in affordable housing for the underserved residents of Harris County. To date, HCD has contributed about $360 million in American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) and Community Development Block Grants – Disaster Recovery funds toward safe, affordable multi-housing projects in Harris County. It continues to make strides to invest in affordable housing, so no underserved residents are left behind.

Villa Eterna Sonrisa Felix Z. Fraga Details:

The Villa Eterna Sonrisa Felix Z. Fraga is a new construction, senior-focused (55 years old +) apartment building that will contain 99 units: 98 one-bedroom units designated for seniors and one two-bedroom unit for the property manager. The development will be a four-story elevator building located at the intersection of Tidwell Road and Bauman Road in the city of Houston and Harris County Precinct 2. The site is conveniently located near an accessible bus stop between I-45 and I-69. The property will include a Si Se Puede Senior Center.

Frumencio Reyes Jr. Plaza Details:

The Frumencio Reyes Jr. Plaza is a new affordable apartment building that will consist of 120 units. The building will offer a variety of unit types, including efficiency, studio, one, two, and three-bedroom apartments, which will be affordable for individuals with incomes at 30, 50, 60, and 80 percent of the area median income. The development will be a four-story elevator building located at the intersection of Upland Drive and Timberline Road in the Spring Branch neighborhood in the City of Houston and Precinct 4 of Harris County. The site is conveniently located near I-10 and Sam Houston Tollway, providing easy access to the rest of the city. It is also located near a mix of single-family homes, multi-family developments, schools, bus stops, and services. The property will include a Si Se Puede Learning Center.

About Cesar Chavez Foundation

At the Cesar Chavez Foundation, our mission is to carry on Cesar’s life’s work of uplifting the lives of Latinos and working families by inspiring and transforming communities through social enterprises that address essential human, cultural, and community needs. The National Chavez Center, an arm of the Chavez Foundation, promotes and preserves the legacy of Cesar Chavez across the nation and manages historical properties near Delano and at Keene, Calif., home to the César E. Chávez National Monument. Follow the Chavez Foundation on LinkedIn, Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, and X. For more information, visit chavezfoundation.org.

About Harris County Housing & Community Development

Harris County Housing & Community Development strives to strengthen communities by investing in housing, infrastructure, and services that promote resiliency. It seeks to have safe, sustainable communities where everyone thrives and no one is left behind. Learn more at hcd.harriscountytx.gov.

About Harris County Redevelopment Authority

The Harris County Redevelopment Authority (HCRDA) promotes, encourages and facilitates economic development, community investment, infrastructure investment and revitalization programs on behalf of the County. The HCRDA is the corporate operating entity for the County-led Greater Houston TIRZ (TIRZ 24), which encompasses approximately 8,000 acres.

About Harris County Housing Finance Corporation

The Harris County Housing Finance Corporation (HCHFC) creates affordable housing opportunities for the citizens of Harris County. The Corporation is authorized to issue debt for the purpose of supporting affordable single-family home mortgages or interests and providing financing for multi-family housing projects for low and moderate-income owners. The Corporation is led by a nine-member Board of Directors appointed by Harris County Commissioners Court.

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Board of Directors Announces Paul Chavez’s Retirement

December 8, 2023, by CCF

The Cesar Chavez Foundation (CCF) Board of Directors announces President Paul Chavez’s retirement at year’s end. During more than 30 years with CCF, Paul Chavez has ensured the legacy and values of his father continue inspiring people to make a difference in their lives and communities. Under his leadership, CCF has grown and transformed into a successful collection of social enterprises supporting millions of Latinos and working families, inspiring and transforming communities from rural to urban areas throughout the Southwest and across the generations. We thank Paul for his unwavering determination, guidance, and his nearly 50 years of commitment to the movement.

The Board of Directors has named CCF’s Chief Operating Officer Manuel Bernal to succeed Paul Chavez as president. Manuel has spent nearly 35 years in community development and a quarter century in leadership roles crafting a vision for CCF. He first joined the foundation in 1999, and until 2011 was Executive Vice President for Housing and Economic Development. Then, he served on the Board of Directors until 2017. Most recently, as chief operating officer, overseeing CCF’s four core programs: affordable housing, education, communications, and legacy work. Manuel’s roots and passion for community development have provided a strong vision for CCF’s future.

We have full confidence in Manuel’s vision for CCF and wish him success in his new role. Following his retirement, Paul will continue to serve on CCF’s Board of Directors and will continue serving farm worker movement organizations as a member of their boards. We wish Paul a happy retirement and thank him for his service in expanding our impact inspiring and transforming communities. We stand ready to support Manuel as he guides the organization forward.

Sincerely,
Cesar Chavez Foundation Board of Directors

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Cesar Chavez Foundation and Housing Authority of the County of Kern Break Ground on High-quality Affordable Housing Community in Bakersfield, Calif

October 30, 2023, by CCF

Cesar Chavez Foundation and Housing Authority of the County of Kern Break Ground on High-quality Affordable Housing Community in Bakersfield, California 

BAKERSFIELD, Calif. (October 30, 2023) – The Cesar Chavez Foundation and Housing Authority of the County of Kern announced the groundbreaking of a new affordable housing community in Bakersfield, Calif. Renaissance at Baker will create 85 units of affordable housing for low-income families and persons with disabilities, including individuals and families experiencing or at risk of homelessness. 

The groundbreaking marks the start of construction of the 85 units, comprised of 37 one-bedroom units, 21 two-bedroom units and 26 three-bedroom units reserved for families earning between 30%-60% AMI. Forty-two of the units will be reserved for persons with disabilities with incomes at or below 30% AMI. The development will seek a highly sustainable LEED-certification and is designed by Y&M Architects. It will feature an outdoor space spread out over two courtyards that includes spaces for sitting and a life-size chess area. The total development cost for the project is $48.5 million.

The Housing Authority of the County of Kern, a local government agency providing safe, affordable housing to thousands of Kern County residents through special programs serving families, individuals, senior citizens, veterans, persons with disabilities, homeless, farm workers and emancipated foster youth, will provide residents with on-site service programs.  

“Renaissance at Baker will address a significant shortage of affordable housing and the need to assist Kern County’s homeless and chronically homeless,” said Paul Chavez, President of the Cesar Chavez Foundation. “Our mission is to improve the lives of working families, and this development is a step towards achieving that goal in an area where my father began his work more than 60 years ago.” 

“We’re pleased to partner with the City and Cesar Chavez Foundation to help revitalize the Old Town Kern neighborhood and bring much needed affordable housing and services to the area,” said Stephen Pelz, Executive Director at Housing Authority of the County of Kern. 

“Building new affordable housing for the most vulnerable of our community in a once vacant lot is an investment in the wellbeing of Bakersfield residents and aligns with the City of Bakersfield’s revitalization efforts for Old Town Kern,” said Bakersfield Councilman Andrae Gonzales.  

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Stop AAPI Hate Interviews Marc Grossman, Spokesperson for the Chavez Foundation

October 19, 2023, by Vanessa Gonzalez

To honor both Hispanic Heritage Month and Filipino American History Month, Stop AAPI Hate spoke with Marc Grossman, spokesperson for the Cesar Chavez Foundation, on the legacy of cross-racial solidarity between Filipino and Mexican-American farmworkers. In the interview, Grossman shared his personal experiences with Cesar Chavez and the movement, as well as how the Foundation continues to promote and uphold social justice and cross-racial solidarity. Keep reading for their full conversation:

 

How did you meet César Chavez? 

Marc: I came of age, socially and politically, in the 1960s. I did my undergraduate work in American history at the University of California, Irvine. Farm labor history was something I took an interest in. I guess at some point, I figured out that it would be a lot more interesting to be a part of history than to just read about it.

This was during the time of the Delano Grape Strike and Boycott — and so, after class and on weekends, I picketed supermarkets. I’d join car caravans bringing food and clothes to the striking workers in Delano. The first time I met César was at Filipino Hall, where the caravans ended up. But I really got to know him through his eldest son, Fernando; we’ve been close friends since we were both 19- or 20-year-old college students. I knew César the last 24 years of his life, and this is my 54th year with the movement.

What a time to be a part of the labor movement! Can you tell me more about César’s decision to join the Delano Grape Strike? At that point, what was the relationship between Latino and Filipino farmworkers? 

Marc: To answer that question, you have to go back to 1962, when César Chavez, Dolores Huerta, Gilbert Padilla, and others started the NFWA — what became the United Farm Workers (UFW). You know, the genesis of their activism was not labor organizing. It was community organizing. And while they understood only a union could overcome abuses in the fields, they were also convinced that when the workers left the job site and returned to their communities, they faced crippling dilemmas having to do with race, language, and ethnicity. This was real discrimination and they believed it would take more than a union to overcome these dilemmas. It would take a movement.

The UFW helped pioneer several labor innovations. The first was solidarity between the races because they knew from studying history that the way growers broke field strikes and crushed unions was by pitting the races against each other. They used Latinos to break the Filipino strikes and Filipinos to break Latino strikes.

So, when Larry Itliong asked César and the UFW to join the picket lines, they didn’t think they had a choice. They insisted that grape strikers of both races share the same picket lines, the same union hall, and the same strike kitchen. That was unequivocal. It’s true — a few members of César’s union — Chicano nationalists — objected to joining the Filipino farmworkers, and asked to put it to a union vote. And César told them he believed in union democracy, but he didn’t think you should vote on whether or not to discriminate. He said, “you can have your vote — and I’ll quit and go join the Filipino union instead.” That was the end of the debate.

That is such a powerful anecdote — especially during a difficult time for race relations in the America of the 1960s. Tell me, what was the origin of the César Chavez Foundation when César Chavez and others created it under a different name, and what is the Chavez Foundation now?

Marc: Since César and his colleagues knew it would take a movement to redress abuses in the community, during the ‘60s César, Larry Itliong and others also founded what today is the Chavez Foundation, to transform communities.

It has built and renovated—and manages—close to 6,000 units of high quality affordable housing for families and seniors over four states—nearly $1 billion invested in disadvantaged communities. It entertains, educates, and encourages community engagement through our Communications Group—nine radio stations in four states with more than one million listeners. It develops future leaders and helps close the achievement gap through educational programs, products, and services. And it runs the National Chavez Center to preserve and educate people about César’s legacy and values.

Does this mean César stopped working with Filipino farmworkers after the strike was over?

Marc: Not at all. From the beginning, the UFW and César Chavez Foundation worked closely with Filipino farmworkers — the manongs. Are you familiar with the term?

No, what does that mean? 

Marc: Well, most of the Filipino immigrants from that generation came to the U.S. in their teens and twenties in the 1920s and ‘30s. Since California’s racist anti-miscegenation laws banned inter-racial marriage and Filipino women were not imported, most were denied the right to marry, to have families, and most had no choice but to live as bachelors.

By the end of the five-year-long Delano Grape Strike in 1970, many of these men were in their sixties and seventies. Some did return to work under the protections of UFW contracts, but many were too old for farm labor. They had lived in farm labor camps for decades, were evicted during the strike, and had no decent places to live.

This gave rise to the Paulo Agbayani Retirement Village — the first ever retirement home for Filipino farmworkers built by the farm worker movement on our Forty Acres property in Delano in 1973-74. It was built with all volunteer labor, including many Asian American college students, some who volunteered days, weeks, and months of free labor. There’s a plaque on the wall of the recreation area with names of all of the volunteers who built it. Congresswoman Judy Chu from Los Angeles is on that plaque.

Wow, I had no idea. Tell me more about the village. 

Marc: Many of the manongs — many veterans of the Delano Grape Strike — were able to live out the rest of their years in comfort and security. They had a garden where they grew their own vegetables, a recreation room, and an industrial kitchen that served three meals of Filipino cuisine every day. Across the way was the movement’s Rodrigo Toronto Memorial Health Clinic, where they could access health services, and a service center where they could get help with Social Security and other benefits.

The last Filipino brother who lived there died in 1989, but we continue to administer the village, preserve it with historical artifacts and photos, and host visitors there from all over the country and around the world. Many Filipino Americans say they consider this as sacred ground. We have a long-range plan of turning it into a museum of Filipino American history.

This is such an important piece of Filipino American History — and I can’t believe I’m hearing about it for the first time. Let me ask you a final question. In honor of Hispanic Heritage Month, I wonder if you can share a lesson you learned from César Chavez — something that you think the movement can benefit from moving forward. 

Marc: César believed the union had to be more than just an economic institution; it had to champion the causes of other struggling workers and oppressed people. Sometimes, he took unpopular stands. He came out against the Vietnam War when many national labor leaders supported it. He unequivocally embraced LGBTQ rights starting in the ‘70s, long before it was popular. I met Harvey Milk accompanying César as his personal aide to events in San Francisco. His idea of leadership was not following the crowd, but getting out in front of the crowd.

About AAPI Hate

Stop AAPI Hate is a national coalition fighting against racism and racial injustice targeting Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders. Together, we work with local communities and government stakeholders to document the rise of anti-AAPI hate and dismantle the systems that allow it to persist. To learn more, visit stopaapihate.org.

Credit: This article was originally published by Stop AAPI Hate.

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Chavez Foundation Breaks Ground on High-Quality Affordable Housing Community in Montebello, Calif

June 1, 2023, by CCF

High-quality, affordable housing community in Montebello named for pioneering labor-community activist J.J. Rodriguez

Montebello, CA – Vista de J.J. Rodriguez, a new affordable housing community in Montebello with 63 units for families, including supportive units for survivors of domestic violence, will be dedicated on Friday, June 2 by the Cesar Chavez Foundation in partnership with the Downtown Women’s Center, a Los Angeles-based nonprofit serving and empowering currently and formerly homeless women. It is named for a pioneering Los Angeles labor and community leader who was a key colleague and supporter of civil rights and farm labor leader Cesar Chavez dating back to the 1950s.

“We’re pleased to break ground on our first affordable housing community in Montebello to address the needs of Latinos and working families,” said Chavez Foundation President Paul F. Chavez. “It’s fitting to name this property after J.J. Rodriguez, a dedicated veteran activist in Los Angeles who was an early champion of the Chicano movement.”

The total development cost for the project is $46.7 million. The project received $27.1 million in Tax Credit Proceeds, which will be in partnership with PNC Financial Services. In addition, the project received $4 million from the City of Montebello in the form of a City Land & Impact Fee Loan and $549,000 in the form of a City Development Loan. The project received $2 million in Affordable Housing Trust Funds from the Los Angeles County Development Authority as well as 31 project-based vouchers. The California Department of Housing and Community Development is investing $2.5 million through its Infill Infrastructure Grant Program. The San Gabriel Valley Regional Housing Trust is investing $1.7 million into the project. Lastly, a Permanent Loan of $8.7 million was done in partnership with City National Bank.

“We stand proudly alongside the Cesar Chavez Foundation as a funder and provider of project-based vouchers for this development,” said Emilio Salas, LACDA executive director. “It is an honor to be part of an effort that will not only bring much needed housing to the community, but that will also recognize the legacy of an individual who fought for many years on behalf of the Latino community.”

Vista de J.J. Rodriguez will house a Si Se Puede Learning Center, Chavez Foundation’s flagship afterschool program for young residents, a playground, and multi-use community space. Chavez Foundation and its partners will provide ongoing property management and supportive services for all residents, including social services for survivors of domestic violence through a partnership with the Los Angeles Downtown Women’s Center.

Keeping with the tradition of the farm worker movement, the project memorializes the late J.J. Rodriguez’s lifetime of advocacy for social, labor, and civil rights. He began organizing City of Vernon packinghouse workers in 1928 and helped build their long-dominant packinghouse workers’ union. During the 1950s, Rodriguez was an important activist and leader in Los Angeles with Cesar Chavez in the Community Service Organization Latino civil rights group. For years, he served as president of the Los Angeles County Federation of Labor, AFL-CIO. When Rodriguez died in 1991, Cesar eulogized his friend as a “pioneering trade unionist who fought many early battles of the Chicano movement.”

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Press Inquiries:

Suzy Silvestre

Director of Strategic Communications

ssilvestre@chavezfoundation.org

 

Marc Grossman

Spokesperson

mgrossman@chavezfoundation.org

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