Bust of Latino Icon Cesar Chavez on Prominent Display in Biden’s Oval Office

By Dana Cruz First Posted: Jan 21, 2021 07:07 AM EST

Joe Biden Marks His Inauguration With Full Day Of Events

(Photo : Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images) U.S. President Joe Biden prepares to sign a series of executive orders at the Resolute Desk in the Oval Office just hours after his inauguration on January 20, 2021 in Washington, DC.

A bronze bust of Cesar Chavez, a Mexican-American civil rights activist and labor leader, is among the new sculptures installed in President Joe Biden's Oval Office at the White House.

Chavez's bust, created by artist Paul Suarez, was placed on a table behind the Resolute Desk in Biden's Oval Office. The 22-inch sculpture sits beside several framed family photos.

The bust of Cesar Chavez is one of some aesthetic changes that Joe Biden made to the room, one that likely supports his pledge to the Latino community.

Joe Biden revealed these new décors Wednesday as he invited reporters to his new office to watch him signed a series of executive orders hours after he took office, reported KTLA.

As USA Today said, Cesar Chavez founded what would later become the United Farmworkers Union in the 1960s. He also led several strikes and marches fighting to improve farmworkers' conditions in the country while he emphasized nonviolent protests.

"Si se puede," which translates to "Yes, we can," became a popular chant during his movement. More so, it became a chant for many other progressive causes, noted AZ Central.

Notably, the English translation was used by former President Barack Obama as his slogan for his successful campaign in 2008.

The figure was put on display at the Visitor Center of the Cesar E. Chavez National Monument in California. The Biden-Harris transition requested the lending of the bust.

Cesar Chavez's Son Praises Joe Biden Move to Display Dad's Sculpture

Paul Chavez, the activist's middle son and president of the Cesar Chavez Foundation, praised Biden in a statement.

In a statement obtained by Los Angeles Times, he said: "Placing a bust of my father in the Oval Office symbolizes the hopeful new day that is dawning for our nation."

For Paul Chavez, placing the bust on the desk wasn't just a way to honor his dad's memory but also "represents faith and empowerment" for the American people. Even leaders of Latino advocacy groups were thrilled to see the bust.

"I literally jumped out of my chair and yelled: 'That's Cesar Chavez! Cesar Chavez!," Darryl Morin, national president of the advocacy group Forward Latino, told NBC News. Morin's group has taken on civil rights and anti-discrimination causes on behalf of Latinos.

Dolores Huerta, a civil rights leader who worked with Chavez, was also excited by the move, despite not seeing any video or photos of the bust when NBC News reached her on Wednesday evening.

Despite only being told that it was in the White House, she said: "I think it's exciting he did that. It's like a reverence to farmworkers, and to do that in front of the Cesar bust shows his sincerity he has, especially when it comes to workers."

Joe Biden Chooses Cesar Chavez's Granddaughter to Serve in White House

Joe Biden also chose someone from the Cesar Chavez line to serve in his administration. He picked Julie Chavez Rodriguez, Chavez's granddaughter, to be the director of the Office of Intergovernmental Relations.

Rodriguez was also happy to see the symbol in Joe Biden's office. She said she was both "excited and honored" that the 46th president of the United States chose the sculpture and said it was "an honor and a real tribute to the community."

Former President Bill Clinton awarded the late activist the Presidential Medal of Freedom in the past. Cesar Chavez also received an honorary degree from the Arizona State University for his work on behalf of farmworkers.