Twin brothers who have pursued careers in law and public service will present the eighth annual Cesar E. Chavez Address at Hope College on Thursday, March 30, at 4 p.m. in the Maas Center auditorium.
Joaquin and Julián Castro will speak about their personal, professional and educational experiences as well as the impact of Cesar Chavez on their lives.
The public is invited. Admission is free.
Joaquin and Julián Castro, who are 31, grew up in San Antonio, Texas, where their parents were involved in political campaigns and civic causes. The two brothers went on to Stanford University and Harvard Law School.
Joaquin Castro now represents San Antonio as one of the youngest members of the Texas Legislature. In addition to representing District 125 in the House of Representatives, he also practices law and is completing a visiting professorship at St. Mary's University School of Law. He currently serves on the Border and International Affairs Committee and the Juvenile and Family Issues Committee. He has received attention as a rising political star in the "Los Angeles Times," "Dallas Morning News," "Texas Monthly," "Latina Magazine," "People en Español" and numerous other publications.
Julián Castro is a practicing civil litigation attorney. In 2001, at age 26, he became the youngest elected city councilman in San Antonio history. After serving on the council for four years, he founded The Law Offices of Julián Castro. He sits on several boards, including the Clear Channel San Antonio Advisory Board and Sallie Mae Corporation's Texas Hispanic Advisory Council, and has served as an adjunct professor at The University of Texas at San Antonio and Trinity University.
The lecture series through which the Castros are speaking is named in honor of Cesar E. Chavez, who played a leading role in the 1960s in organizing the nation's migrant farm workers, and was the first head of the National Farm Workers Association, later the United Farm Workers. March 31, his birthday, is the official Cesar E. Chavez Day of Service and Learning, a holiday in eight states including Michigan and dozens of cities and counties throughout the nation.
This year marks the 40th anniversary of Chavez's 1966 pilgrimage from Delano, Calif., to the steps of the state capitol in Sacramento to draw national attention to the struggles and conditions of farm workers. Chavez died in 1993 at age 66.
The March 30 presentation is sponsored by the college's Office of Multicultural Life and the La Raza Unida student organization.
The Maas Center is located on Columbia Avenue at 11th Street.