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Yesterday, President Obama issued a presidential proclamation establishing March 31st as Cesar Chavez Day. Chavez was a lifelong advocate for workers’ rights and civil rights, inspiring a legacy of justice and empowerment. He fought for change and helped improve the lives of American workers at a time when workers’ rights were barely an afterthought in the national dialogue.

This week, the LGBT community received several pieces of welcome news. While President Obama was in South America, he came together with Brazilian President Rousseff to support the establishment of a special representative on LGBT issues at the Organization of American States.

"On this 100th Anniversary of International Women’s Day, we celebrate the extraordinary gains made by women over the past century—and the women pioneers who made them possible—and we reaffirm our unwavering support for the rights, security, dignity and opportunity of all women around the world."

Last week, the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) announced that President Obama had directed them to no longer defend the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA) in court. The President has always believed DOMA, a law denying equal rights to gay and lesbian Americans because of contradictions in federal and state laws, to be discriminatory and unfair. Now, the President has directed his administration accordingly and deemed a key component of this law unconstitutional, reaffirming his continued effort to achieve greater equality for all Americans.

As a candidate, President Obama ran for election on a strong commitment to civil rights. A commitment that the President and the administration have returned to in office again and again:

Among the first votes in the House of Representatives yesterday was a vote to certify the House rules, as proposed by the Republican majority. As their first act in the majority, Republican representatives used this vote to strip certain voting rights from six House delegates who represent taxpayers in the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, Guam, the Virgin Islands, the Philippines, and American Samoa.

During the past two years, President Obama and Congressional Democrats have been fighting hard on behalf of the American people. Working to secure economic stability, fairness, and opportunity and overcoming challenges largely inherited when President Obama took office.

President Obama signed into law the repeal of “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” yesterday, putting in motion the end of a law that saw more than 14,000 members of the military discharged for being gay over the past 17 years. The President was joined by former members of the military who left or were expelled because of the discriminatory law, as well members of Congress who helped to secure repeal.