Baldemar Velasquez, an ally and friend of Cesar Chavez for 27 years, spoke Wednesday of how he used to pick cherries in Traverse City and dreamt of organizing farm workers to fight for their rights.

"If you want to do those things, you find the people," he said in reference to Chavez. "You're not going to learn those things in sociology classes at MSU."

Velasquez, president of the Farm Labor Organizing Committee, was the keynote speaker for the Main Library event that celebrated the first official Cesar Chavez Day in Michigan.

Chavez, who died in 1993, was a civil rights and labor leader and founded the United Farm Workers of America union. On Dec. 3, Gov. Jennifer Granholm established March 31 as Cesar Chavez Day in Michigan.

"He is truly an American hero," East Lansing Mayor Mark Meadows said. "He worked to provide increased opportunities for all races."

Meadows said a common denominator in men such as Chavez, Martin Luther King Jr. and Mohandas K. Gandhi was a commitment to nonviolent change.

Also present at the event were Provost Lou Anna Simon, history Professor Dionicio Valdes, Lansing Mayor Tony Benavides and state Sen. Samuel Thomas, D-Detroit, who introduced the legislation for Cesar Chavez Day.

"We identify with the struggles," Benavides said, explaining that he and his wife worked as a migrant workers earlier in their lives. Benavides said he met and worked with Chavez at Cristo Rey Community Center in Lansing later in life.

"I am honoring one of our own," he said. "I'm most proud of our governor for declaring today Cesar Chavez Day.

"It's a step in the right direction."

In a written statement, Granholm said Chavez was a true American leader whose legacy touches everyone.

"He serves as an inspiration, not only to the Hispanic community, but to all people who work to improve their communities by fighting discrimination, working for economic equality and ensuring safe and fair working conditions," she said.

Granholm also attended the Capital Area Cesar E. Chavez Commission's 2004 Commemoration Dinner and Program at the Lansing Center.

Students at the library event included social relations and English freshman Tommy Simon and linguistics sophomore George Moyer. Both are members of the Students for Economic Justice activist group.

"We're in complete solidarity with Cesar Chavez," Simon said. "He's a role model to me, especially the ideas he had."