Cesar Chavez home designated a national monument by Obama
(L-R) Paul F. Chavez, son of Cesar Chavez; Helen F. Chavez, widow of Cesar Chavez; President Barack Obama; Dolores Huerta, co-founder of the United Farm Workers; and Arturo S. Rodriguez, president of the United Farm Workers, walk to visit the grave of Cesar Chavez during a tour of a memorial garden at the Chavez National Monument Oct. 8, 2012 in Keene, California.
Cesar Chavez’s home became a national monument on Monday as President Barack Obama made a campaign swing through central California.
Known as La Paz, or "the peace," the property near Bakersfield, California, is where the farm labor leader organized growers under the United Farm Workers movement famous for a 1960s grape boycott.
More from GlobalPost: Cesar Chavez home to become national monument
Chavez is also buried there, and Obama visited his grave with surviving family members before speaking, The Associated Press reported.
"Cesar Chavez gave a voice to poor and disenfranchised workers everywhere," the president said. "La Paz was at the center of some of the most significant civil rights moments in our nation's history, and by designating it a national monument, Chavez's legacy will be preserved and shared to inspire generations to come."
A hero among America's Latino community, Chavez helped organize farmworkers in the early 1970s and taught them how to write contracts and negotiate with farm owners for better pay and conditions.
More from GlobalPost: Cesar Chavez honored by Labor Department, Los Angeles
He died in 1993.
The Cesar E. Chavez National Monument is now the 398th park in the National Park Service system, and the first since the 1700s to honor a Latino, according to CNN.
The move comes less than a month before Election Day, and could further strengthen Obama's support among Latino and progressive voters.
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