A good memory today of day laborer and immigrant rights leader Jose Diaz.

Despedida today – celebration of the contributions of day laborer and immigrant rights leader Jose Diaz at Pomona Day Labor Center – leaving to his home in Mexico – with many speaking today and lauding his years of organizing alongside day laborers, farmworkers, students, unions, multi-racial coalitions, and immigrant rights organizations.

What stood out was his years of organizing to stop the injustices of checkpoints, the gathering of thousands of signatures in support of driver’s licenses for all, the holding of know your rights classes, and the part he played in passing legislation giving the right of undocumented workers the right to obtain a driver’s license.