César Chávez
César Estrada Chávez was born on
March 31, 1927 near Yuma Arizona. He was named after his
great-grandfather Cesario, who was an escaped slave. His grandfather
settled in the United States with his wife Dorotea in order to make a
better life for the family. In 1924, one of Cesario's sons, Librado
married Juana Estrada, and they had six children together. Their
second child was César Estrada Chávez, and he was their
oldest son.
César's father Librado was a successful and
hardworking individual. He operated a general store and was elected
postmaster in addition to caring for the family's farm, which was
near the Gila Valley. When César was ten years old, the family
lost the farm through a dishonest deal made with their Anglo
neighbor. César's father had agreed to clear eighty acres of
land and in exchange he would receive the deed to the forty acres
that adjoined the family's adobe home. The agreement was broken and
the land was sold to an individual named Justus Jackson.
César's father asked aid from a lawyer, who advised him to
take out a loan to buy the land. When the family could not pay the
interest on the loan, they lost everything. The same lawyer bought
the land back and sold it to the original owner. It was then that
César learned the lessons of injustice that he would remember
later in life.
When the family lost their land, they picked up
their belongings and headed to California. They joined over 300,000
migrant workers who followed the crops in search of jobs. Many of
these individuals had lost their lands and jobs as a result of the
Great Depression. In 1938 the family lived in La Colonia Barrio in
Oxnard, then returned to Arizona a couple of months later. In June
1939, Cesar's family returned to California and settled in the barrio
neighborhood "Sal Si Puedes. "Get out if you can." César felt
the only way to break the cycle of poverty was to work his way up and
send his kids to college.
Migrant workers would travel from state to state
searching for jobs, picking whatever was in season. These people had
no permanent homes; many lived in their cars or in tents. The lived
in overcrowded quarters, without electricity, running water, or
bathrooms. Many of these workers were of Mexican or Asian descent.
The school situation for the children was not
easy. Often the teachers were prejudiced against the Spanish-speaking
students. As a young boy César did not like school because of
the fact that Spanish was forbidden at school. This was the language
he spoke at home. He recalls of being punished harshly with a ruler
every time he violated a rule. In addition, he remembers during that
time most of the schools were segregated and the integrated schools
had a very hostile environment. Racist remarks were the norm. Also,
many of the teachers were neither friendly nor helpful because they
knew the children would be moving from school to school. They thought
teaching these children wasn't worth the effort. During the course of
his education, Chávez attended over thirty-seven schools. In
1942, he graduated from eighth grade. He did not return to high
school because his father became injured in an accident and he did
not want his mother Juana to have to work in the fields.
Chávez began working full-time. Eventually the family was able
to rent a small cottage in San Jose. In 1944, Chávez joined
the navy and served in the western pacific near the end of World War
II. In 1948, he married Helen Fabela and they move into a one room
shack in Delano, California. Chávez started working in the
fields again, but this time he began to fight for a change in the
conditions. That year he participated in his first strike in protest
of the low wages and the poor working conditions. Several days later
the workers were forced back into the fields.
In 1952, César Chávez met Fred Ross,
while laboring in the apricot orchids outside of San Jose. Ross was
part of the Community Service Organization (CSO), which was a barrio
self help group formed by Saul Alinsky. Chavez joined the group and
began encouraging Mexican-Americans to vote. He traveled throughout
California making speeches in support of workers' rights, and helped
organize CSO chapters in California and Arizona. In 1958, and into
the early sixties, Chávez became the national director of the
CSO. He tried to convince the CSO to help farm workers organize, but
to no avail.
Chávez left the CSO four years later. He
resigned from his job and moved his wife and children to Delano,
California in order to form his own organization the National Farm
Workers Association. The name later became the United Farm Workers
Movement. (UFW). His dream was to create an organization to help farm
workers. The situation was difficult for the large Chávez
family. His wife Helen had to work in the fields during the week and
on weekends. Chávez traveled to many California communities in
order to gain support for the movement. In 1965, César
Chávez and the UFW led a strike against the grape pickers
demanding higher wages and better working conditions. As part of
their plan they encouraged Americans to boycott table grapes. The
strike lasted for over five years. It attracted famous people to the
cause such as Robert and Ethel Kennedy. When the Senate Subcommittee
looked into the situation, Robert Kennedy gave Chávez his
total support.
In 1968, Chávez began a fast to call
attention to the farm workers plight. This fast increased public
awareness of the situation. The grape strike was finally settled, and
an agreement was reached. In 1973, the UFW organized a strike for
lettuce growers. Also, in the 1980's Chávez began a crusade on
the use of pesticides on grapes. He began another fast. Most of the
strikes and boycotts he led eventually ended up with the signing of
bargaining agreements.
César Chávez passed away on April
23, 1993 in San Luis. He was sixty-six years old. There were more
than 40,000 people that participated in his funeral. In 1991,
Chávez received the Aguila Azteca, which is Mexico's highest
award presented to people of Mexican heritage who have made major
contributions outside of Mexico. In 1994, Chávez also received
posthumously the Presidential Medal of Freedom. He became only the
second Mexican American to receive this award, which is the highest
civilian honor in the United States.
Corrido de César Chávez
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