El Senador

EL SENADOR-HON. TOM UDALL (Extensions of Remarks - October 10, 2004)

Mr. UDALL of New Mexico. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to pay tribute to the nation's longest serving Hispanic Senator, Dennis Chavez.

Yesterday, as part of Hispanic Heritage Month, which runs September 15th to October 15th, I hosted a screening of a documentary about Senator Chavez called El Senador, in conjunction with the Congressional Hispanic Caucus. I was privileged to be joined by Senator Chavez's daughters, Mrs. Gloria Tristani and Mrs. Ymelda Dixon, his granddaughter, Ms. Gloria Tristani, and Wayne Coy, the husband of Cissie Coy, who is Mrs. Dixon's daughter.

It was a pleasure to work with the family and the rest of the Dennis Chavez Foundation to bring that event together. And many thanks are due to Paige Martinez, the extraordinary filmmaker behind El Senador, who has correctly deemed the legacy of Senator Chavez as an important part not only of New Mexican history, but also of American and world history.

I have the privilege of representing the 3rd district of New Mexico, the state that Senator Dennis Chavez represented for 32 long years. My father, Stewart Udall, served in the U.S. Congress with Dennis Chavez in the late fifties and early sixties. He has always said that what he saw in Senator Chavez was a visionary and a man of courage.

In 1944, Senator Chavez cosponsored a bill to prohibit discrimination in employment. Such forward thinking was not well received by the Southern senators at the time. A legendary filibuster and eventual interference by President Truman forced him to withdraw his bill. Twenty years later, in 1964, these rights were finally secured with the passage of the 1964 Civil Rights Act. A true visionary, Senator Chavez was far ahead of his time in progressive thinking.

Dennis Chavez was also a man of courage. At the height of anti-Communist sentiment in the 1950s, he was one of the first to denounce the activities of Joseph McCarthy, and expose him for being a demagogue. Imagine the kind of courage it took speak out loudly against McCarthy's Committee on Un-American Activities during a time when spreading fear of Communist infiltration was rampant. The following is a quote by Senator Chavez from a speech he gave on the Senate floor about the McCarthy hearings in 1950:

"I should like to be remembered as the man who raised a voice and I devoutly hope not a voice in the wilderness at a time in the history of this body when we seem bent upon placing limitations on the freedom of the individual. I would consider all of the legislation which I have supported meaningless if I were to sit idly by, silent, during a period which may go down in history as an era when we permitted the curtailment of our liberties, a period when we quietly shackled the growth of men's minds."

Just outside the Old Senate Chamber in the Capitol stands New Mexico's only statue in the building. At the base, there is a quote in three languages: Spanish, English, and Navajo-a testament to New Mexico's diverse population. It reads, "He left a mark that will never be forgotten in the hopes that others would follow." It's a tall statue, imposing statue-one with mighty big shoes to fill.

I appreciate this opportunity to celebrate the legacy of Senator Dennis Chavez during the 2004 Hispanic Heritage Month.