The Convocation honors the memory of Cesar Chavez, his achievements, commitment to social justice/civil rights, unrelenting efforts to cultivate grassroots leadership, and his successful formation of the United Farm Workers Union (UFW). This year’s Convocation keynote speaker is UCSC Alumni and Director of New York based Gathering for Justice Carmen Perez.
Carmen graduated from College Eight in 2001 with a degree in Sociology. In 2002, Carmen worked for BarriosUnidos in Santa Cruz, California – an organization dedicated to providing non-violence training and re-entry services for the incarcerated. In 2005, while working for Barrios Unidos, Carmen met the man who would influence the next decade of her life – Harry Belafonte.
In November 2013 she founded Justice League NYC, a task force of juvenile and criminal justice advocates, experts, artists, and formerly incarcerated individuals brought together to build “Growing Up Locked Down” (GULD) a 3-day juvenile justice conference in September of that same year. Justice League NYC recently led a 250 mile, 9 day March2Justice from NYC to DC to deliver The Justice Package to Congress – 3 pieces of federal legislation to end racial profiling, stop the militarization of the police and invest in our children and protect our communities. Carmen has gained respect as an expert in the field of juvenile and criminal justice and system accountability, and in that capacity has appeared on CNN, MSNBC, NY1, CNBC, CBS and was featured in articles in the NY Times, Washington Post, Wall Street Journal and more. She recently testified before the President’s Task Force on 21st Century Policing as a criminal and juvenile justice reform expert.
The Cesar Chavez Convocation is presented by the College Ten Co-Curricular Programs Office and The Chicano Resource Center (El Centro), and The Dean of Students Office (DOS). The event is co-sponsored by: Community and Resource Empowerment (e2); American Indian Resource Center; African American Resource and Cultural Center; Asian American Resource Center; Lionel Cantu Queer Resource Center; Women's Resource Center; College Eight Senate; Porter College Senate; Oakes College Senate; Crown College Senate; Stevenson College Senate; College Nine Senate; College Ten Senate; Cowell College Senate.
