A group of Atlantic lawmakers are calling the federal government to turn the birthday of César Chavez into a national holiday.

Born on March 31, 1927 Cesar Chavez was a Mexican-American labor leader and an activist for civil rights. Cesar Chavez co-founded the National Farm Worker Association, later called United Farm Workers, along with Dolores Huerta. Cesar Chavez, who died in 1993, is considered a hero in America’s Hispanic history.

Senator Nan Orrock and Rep. Pedro Marin have presented a resolution in both the chambers of the legislature and have called the lawmakers to support their demand of a federal holiday on the birthday of César Chavez. Eight American states are already celebrating national holidays on the birth anniversary of César Chavez.

State Senator Vincent Fort remarked about the resolution and said that César Chavez holds same importance in the history as Martin Luther King does. Fort says that Chavez was one of the leading figures in past 60 years of the American nation who worked for the betterment of farm labors. He also supported the idea of a national holiday and said that the nation needs to honor the life of César Chavez.

Georgia Association of Latino Elected Officials says that during his presidential campaign President Obama also endorsed the idea of declaring the birth anniversary of Chavez a national holiday. Jerry Gonzalez the executive of the association says that as a nation it is very important for America to acknowledge the efforts of its heroes. He said that the country has acknowledged the efforts of Martin Luther King and now it is time that the nation does the same for César Chavez.

Cesar Chavez