Immigrants' rights attorney highlights Cesar Chavez Week

An attorney with more than a decade of experience of fighting for immigrants' rights and political access for Latinos will highlight Cesar Chavez Week events at Grand Valley State University.

Ricardo Meza, former assistant U.S. attorney, will speak on Monday, March 31, at 1 p.m. in the Kirkhof Center, Grand River Room. His speech follows a silent march that will begin at noon at Zumberge Library.

Meza began his career at the Mexican American Legal Defense and Education Fund and has returned to Chicago to led MALDEF's Midwest office. Founded in 1968, MALDEF is the leading nonprofit Latino litigation, advocacy and educational outreach organization.

Other events during Chavez Week include:

• Movie, "I Wonder What You Will Remember of September," April 1, 1-2 p.m., Kirkhof Center, room 204.
Documentary filmmaker Cecilia Cornejo will discuss her film, her personal response to September 11 terrorists attacks and how collective histories are passed to the next generation.

• Lecture, "The Relationship Between Mexico and the U.S.," by Vicente Sanchez, honorable counsel of Mexico, April 2, 1-2 p.m., Cook-DeWitt Center.

Sanchez will discuss how Mexican Americans have contributed to America, and the social and political relationships between the two countries. His lecture will honor the life of Chavez, the civil rights and labor leader who died in 1993.

All events are free and open to the public. Chavez week is sponsored by Grand Valley's Office of Multicultural Affairs and Latino Student Union. For more information, call (616) 331-2177.