The publication is reproduced in full below:
HONORING JUAN MARTINEZ
______
HON. JIMMY PANETTA
of california
in the house of representatives
Wednesday, July 27, 2022
Mr. PANETTA. Madam Speaker, I rise today to celebrate the life of Juan Martinez, a local hero, an influential Chicano activist, and invaluable community archivist. After a year-long battle with cancer, Mr. Martinez passed away, and leaves behind a legacy of storytelling.
The son of a World War II veteran, Juan Martinez was born and raised in the City of Gonzalez. Be attended Gonzalez High School, where he played football and became active in the Farmworkers' Movement.
As an 18-year-old high school student, Mr. Martinez stood with United Farm Workers and Cesar Chavez when he spent 20 days in jail in Salinas in 1970 for refusing to call off a lettuce boycott. Mr. Martinez was among some 2,000 supporters who marched with Chavez to turn himself in at the jail, and Juan Martinez joined the group as a bodyguard to protect Mr. Chavez. This experience fueled Mr. Martinez's passion to support the Farmworkers' Movement and marginalized communities.
He later became a champion of the preservation of the Farmworkers' Movement and its history in Salinas and on the central coast of California. He fought tirelessly to transform the old Monterey County into a Cesar Chavez Museum and was instrumental in having it designated on the National Register of Historic Places. He also kept a personal collection of photographs, testimonies and artifacts related to the movement, ensuring that this important part of our history is never lost. He also organized the installation of signage on Highway 101, designating part of it as ``Bracero Memorial Highway'' to honor 32 seasonal farmworkers who died in a truck crash in Chualar in 1963.
Additionally, he served the Central Coast as a community worker with California Rural Legal Assistance, assisting historically disadvantaged communities. Mr. Martinez also served on the Hartnell College Board of Trustees from 1979 to 1991 and was a co-founder of the Monterey County Pesticide Coalition. The coalition fought to establish the first field posting ordinance in Monterey County in 1983 that would become a model for statewide legislation.
Madam Speaker, Juan Martinez's commitment to service will continue to protect and impact Californians for generations to come. Let us always remember his legacy of service and honor his commitment to the Central Coast and its storied history.
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SOURCE: Congressional Record Vol. 168, No. 125(1), Congressional Record Vol. 168, No. 125(2)
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