Cesar Chavez: The Fight for Justice

Cesar Estrada Chavez was an activist who was born on March 31, 1927 near Yuma, Arizona in his family's small home in the North Gila River Valley. He was the second of five children, and was named after his grandfather, Cesario. Chavez was born to parents who taught him important ideas about hard work, the importance of education, and respect. As a young boy, Chavez worked on his family’s farm feeding and watering the animals, collecting eggs, and bringing water to the house. At age 11, Chavez' family lost their home during the Great Depression, causing him and his family to become migrant farm workers. Throughout his youth and into his adulthood, Chavez traveled around California working in the fields, orchards, and vineyards. This was where he was exposed to the true injustices and hardships of a farm worker's life. Chavez joined the U.S. Navy in 1946, in the aftermath of World War II, and served in the Western Pacific. He returned from the service in 1948 to marry Helen Fabela, whom he met while working in fields and vineyards around Delano.

In San Jose Chavez met a local priest, Father Donald McDonnell, who introduced him to the writings of St. Francis and Mahatma Gandhi, and the idea that non-violence could be an active force for positive change. But he still needed to learn how to put these principles into action. Soon, the man who would teach Chavez how to put this theory into practice arrived in San Jose in 1953. His name was Fred Ross. Fred Ross was an organizer. He was in San Jose to recruit members for the Community Service Organization (CSO). CSO helped its members with immigration and tax problems, and taught them how to organize and to deal with problems like police violence and discrimination. To Chavez, Ross’ simple rules for organizing were nothing short of revolutionary. It was the beginning of a life-long friendship between Chavez and Ross.

Chavez rapidly developed as an organizer, rising to become the president of CSO. However, when the organization turned down his request to organize the farm workers in 1962, he resigned and returned to Delano. From 1962 to 1965 he went around the state, talking to farm workers. He soon started a new organization. His new organization, the National Farm workers Association (NFWA), would use the community service that Cesar had learned in CSO. The people of the organization faced odds that could not be overcome by traditional strategies. Under Chavez’ leadership, the struggle became defined in new terms. They would do battle non-violently, since they could never match the growers in physical force. They were a poor movement, so they would emphasize their poverty. The real focus soon moved to the cities where grapes were sold. Hundreds of students, religious workers and labor activists talked to consumers in front of markets, asking them to do a simple thing: “Help the farm workers by not buying grapes.” At its height, over 13 million Americans supported the Delano grape boycott. The pressure was irresistible, and in 1969 the Delano growers signed historic contracts with the United Farm workers Organizing Committee, which would later become the United Farm workers Union (UFW).
Chavez had inspired an organization that did not look like a labor union. His vision didn’t include just the traditional issues of unionism; it was about reclaiming dignity for people

who were isolated and unaccepted by society. What had started as the Delano grape strike

came to be known as La Causa, or the Cause. Whether they were farm workers fighting for a better life, or students trying to change the world, those who were drawn to the

farm workers' movement were inspired by Chavez’ example to put aside their normal lives and make exceptional sacrifices. Chavez’ goals and vision were soon changing as well. He began to focus on the dangers of pesticides, which had always been a major source of illness among farm workers. It was a subject that drew a positive response from an environmentally conscious public. Instead of using volunteers, he relied more and more on direct mail. He built low-cost housing for farm workers, and considered starting an urban organizing campaign in Mexican-American communities. Cesar Chavez had become a remarkable symbol — for Latinos, community activists, the labor movement, young people, and all who valued his values and commitment. He had accomplished something that no one else had ever been able to do; build a union for farm workers. In the process, Chavez trained a generation of activists who would apply their skills in other communities and struggles.

Cesar Chavez died on April 23, 1993, near his birthplace in Yuma, Arizona. He was 66 years old. His funeral in Delano attracted thousands of Americans from all parts of the country. Cesar was a civil rights, Latino, and farm labor leader, a genuinely religious and spiritual figure, a community organizer and social entrepreneur, a champion of militant nonviolent social change, and a crusader for the environment and consumer rights.