The Dennis Chavez Foundation endowed theU.S. Senator Dennis Chavez Lectureship tomemorialize Chavez’s legacy as a public

servant and a champion of civil rights. SenatorChavez reflected on his years of service stating: “Ibelieve history will give me credit that I have carriedout my official duties in such a way that publicservice has always been emphasized. After election,a man is not a senator for the Democrats, or theRepublicans, but for the people of the UnitedStates, and his state.”

Chavez spoke for equality and fairness and againstdiscrimination and bigotry. During World War II heworked to secure equal pay for military femalenurses, who were being paid 50 percent less thantheir male counterparts. He introduced the FairPractices Employment Act, noting that many of themen returning from World War II were notsecuring employment:

“(t)he bill does provide that a man cannotbe kept from having a job because hisname is Levine, Petachelli, or Garcia... . Itis most regrettable that somepersons think that it was all well

and good to use such men and call uponthem to make the supreme sacrifice inforeign fields...but that they are not goodenough to receive equal treatment in ourcountry... . These boys did not die in vain.”

Chavez’s statue in the United States Capitolincludes an inscription in Spanish, which reads,“Dejó este Señor una vereda trazada que nunca seolvidará. Lo hizo con la esperanza que otros lasigan.” It means, “He left a path that will never beforgotten in the hope that others would follow.”

The Chavez family wishes that the lectureship willinspire students and others to follow the enduringvalues of Senator Chavez’s life and service.

“I should like to be remembered asthe man who raised a voice…at atime in the history of this bodywhen we seem bent upon placinglimitations on the freedom of the individual.”

—Sen. Dennis ChavezMay 12, 1950 U.S. Senate floor session

A Message from the Chavez Family

The UNM School of Law wouldlike to extend a special thanks to:

The Chavez & Tristani Families

Arthur R. Gomez and Cissie Coy, authors of Chavez, El Senador

The National Hispanic Cultural Center History and Literary Archives

State Bar of New Mexico

Center for Southwest Research

The Honorable M. Christina Armijo

Carmen Rawls

John Cordova

Kenesson Design, Inc.

Our UNM Main Campus, UNM Foundation, Local Media and

UNM Law Media Center Staff and Partners

October 26, 2017

courtesy NHCC

In the fall of 2009, the Dennis Chavez Foun-dation bestowed a gift of $100,000 upon thelaw school for the establishment of an endow-

ment for a lectureship/symposium on Law andCivil Rights, designed to promote awareness andacademic discourse on U.S. Senator Dennis

Chavez and topics related to his legacy and life’swork. The endowment creates the opportunity toinvite scholars to deliver public lectures on topicsrelated to Sen. Chavez’s legacy, such as humanrights, equal opportunity, Hispanics and NewMexico in government.

Establishing the U.S. Senator Dennis ChavezEndowed Lectureship/Symposium

on Law and Civil Rights

Dennis Chavez grew up inthe Barelas neighborhoodof Albuquerque in a Span-

ish-speaking household. It wasduring those early years, in the late1800s, that he developed an inter-

nal foundation that would drive him andguide him for the rest of his life.

Chavez left school at 12 to help support hisfamily. During his six-day-a-week job deliv-ering groceries for Highland Grocery Store,he became concerned with inequities inclass and race that he witnessed. His timeoff was spent at the public library immers-ing himself in U.S. history.

Before he could vote, Chavez became in-volved with the Democratic Party. His excep-tional ability to communicate with the state’sSpanish-speaking voters so impressed A.A.Jones during his successful 1916 U.S. sen-atorial campaign that Sen. Jones invitedChavez to join his staff and move to Wash-ington, D.C. Determined to become alawyer, Chavez spent his days on CapitolHill and enrolled in evening law classes atthe Law Department at Georgetown Univer-sity, earning his degree in 1920.

Chavez returned to Albuquerque to set up alaw practice, but his future was in the polit-ical arena. After one term in the New MexicoLegislature, he served two terms in the U.S.House of Representatives. In 1935, he be-

came the only Hispanic in the U.S. Senate,where he served until his death in 1962, es-tablishing himself as a vigorous advocate ofcivil and human rights.

Chavez also was concerned with the devel-opment of resources in the West. He activelysupported measures such as water and soilconservation programs, and he introducedmany bills to protect Indian lands, votingrights and self determination.

Chavez conferred with every president fromHoover to Kennedy, and ultimately becameone of the most powerful members of Con-gress, but when he returned home to NewMexico, he always delighted in the opportu-nity to visit with his fellow New Mexicans.And he never forgot his humble roots.

The Honorable M. Christina Armijo, ChiefJudge of the United States District Court forthe District of New Mexico, was appointed to

the United States District Court in 2001, after unan-imous confirmation by the United States Senate.She has served as Chief Judge since 2012. Prior tojoining the federal bench, she served on the NewMexico Court of Appeals from 1996 to 2001. Whenshe was appointed to the Court of Appeals she be-came the first Latina to serve in any appellate courtin the State of New Mexico. She is a 1975 graduateof the University of New Mexico School of Law.

Chief Judge Armijo presides over a federal District which ranks first in theTenth Circuit and tenth in the US with respect to weighted filings (includingboth civil and criminal cases). The District of New Mexico maintains thehighest criminal felony caseload among the five Border federal districts.

During her tenure as Chief Judge, she has overseen the selection of sevenfull-time and two part-time United States Magistrate Judges and a ChiefProbation Officer. For the past five years she has been involved instructuring a significant national space reduction/space realignment projectin the District of New Mexico. The final design and procurement phases arenow complete for the US Bankruptcy Court’s relocation to the Pete V.Domenici Courthouse. This project aligns with the Administrative Office’snational space reduction initiative and will save the Judiciary approximately$1 million annually on rent and security costs by decreasing the size of theDistrict’s footprint. This project is one of the largest cost reduction projectsin the nation.

Chief Judge Armijo previously served as president of the New MexicoWomen’s Bar Association. In October 2011 she was awarded the HenriettaPettijohn Award by the New Mexico Women’s Bar Association for her workand commitment to advancing women in the legal profession. She enjoysdelving into New Mexico history in her spare time.

1988 • During the centen-nial celebration of Sen.Chavez’s birth, PresidentRonald Reagan declares Na-tional Dennis Chavez Day.

1991 • The U.S. Postal Serv-ice issues a 35¢ stamp hon-oring Chavez as part of itsGreat American Series.

1966 • A statue of Chavez isdedicated in the Rotunda ofthe U.S. Capitol. Vice Presi-dent Hubert H. Humphreyand U.S. Supreme CourtChief Justice Earl Warrenspeak at the ceremony.

1962 • Chavez dies of aheart attack. He is buried inAlbuquerque’s Mount Cal-vary Cemetery with VicePresident Lyndon B. Johnsonproviding the eulogy.

1955 • Chavez chairs theU.S. Senate Subcommitteeon Defense Spending. His ef-forts help to build up thecountry’s military strengtharound the world and securefunds to develop NewMexico’s national lab-oratories.

1950 • Chavez speaks outagainst Sen. Joseph Mc-Carthy’s anti-Communistcampaign, after which mem-bers of the U.S. Senate un-successfully move to censureMcCarthy.

1952 • Chavez co-sponsorsthe Federal-Aid Highway Act,which ultimately leads tobuilding a national highwaysystem.

1944 • Chavez introducesthe Fair Employment Prac-tices Commission bill, pro-hibiting discriminationbased on race, religion,color, national origin orancestry in the work-place. The bill does notpass and it was not untilthe 1964 Civil Rights Billthat these rights wereprotected.

1935 • Gov. Clyde Tingley appoints Chavez to the U.S.Senate following atragic plane crashthat claimed the lifeof Sen. BronsonCutting. He easilywins the electionthe following year.Chavez is the firstnative born His-panic senator.

1930 • Chavez is elected tothe U.S. House of Represen-tatives; he is re-elected in1932. He chairs the IndianAffairs Committee, and in1933 sponsors a bill author-izing compensatory pay-ments of $750,000 to NewMexico Pueblo Indians formisappropriated lands.

1922 • Chavez is elected tothe New Mexico House ofRepresentatives. In light ofNew Mexico’s nearly 40 per-cent illiteracy rate, he suc-cessfully sponsors legislationto provide free textbooks forall of the state’s school chil-dren.

1920 • Chavez graduatesfrom law school and returnsto Albuquerque to set up apractice. He becomes activein local politics.

1911 • Chavez marriesImelda Espinosa during dailymass at Immaculate Concep-tion Catholic Church in Albu-querque.

1917 • Dennis and ImeldaChavez move to Washington,D.C., where Dennis works asassistant legislative clerk forU.S. Sen. A.A. Jones of NewMexico. He begins attendingevening classes at George-town University School of Law.

1900 • Chavez drops out ofschool to help support hisfamily.

1903 • A delivery boy for alocal grocer, Chavez refusesto deliver a wagonload ofgroceries to the Santa FeRailroad during a workers’strike. He is fired as a result.

1888 • Dennis Chavez isborn in the village of LosChavez in the Territory ofNew Mexico, the second old-est of eight children.

1895 • The Chavez familymoves to Barelas, in theheart of downtown Albu-querque.

1999 • Sculptor CynthiaRowland’s bronze and gran-ite sculpture of Chavez vis-iting with a constituent, withpanels depicting his life, isdedicated in Albuquerque’sCivic Plaza.

El SenadorThe Honorable M. Christina Armijo

Dennis Chavez, 1888–1962

courtesy NHC

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courtesy NHCC

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photo Nancy Harbert

courtesy NHCC

EventProgramWELCOME UNM Law School Co-Dean Alfred Mathewson

THE LIFE AND LEGACY OF

SENATOR CHAVEZ

Gloria Tristani

INTRODUCTION OF SPEAKER

Former Dean and Professor of LawKevin Washburn

LECTURE

The Honorable M. ChristinaArmijo, Chief Judge of the UnitedStates District Court for the Districtof New Mexico

“The Legacy of Senator DennisChavez: Choices, Challenges andConsequences, and His Courageand Resolve in Safeguarding theRights of Individuals.”

CLOSING REMARKS UNM Law School Co-Dean Alfred Mathewson

•••The UNM School of Law invites everyone to visit withChief Judge Armijo and the Chavez family at a receptionbefore the lecture.