Obama to designate Chavez home as nat'l monument

In a move aimed at shoring up support from Hispanic and progressive voters, President Barack Obama will designate the California home of labor leader Cesar Chavez as a national monument. Obama will establish the Cesar E. Chavez National Monument in Keene, Calif., during a campaign swing through California next week. The property is known as La Paz, short for Nuestra Señora Reina de la Paz, or Our Lady Queen of Peace. It served as national headquarters of the United Farm Workers, as well as Chavez's home, from the early 1970s until his death in 1993. Obama says in a statement that Chavez "gave a voice to poor and disenfranchised workers everywhere" and that La Paz was at the center of significant civil rights events. AP