| "From the depth of need and despair, people can work together, can organize themselves to solve their own problems and fill their own needs with dignity and strength" |
A STORY OF CESAR CHAVEZ
| The Cross and the Hoe |
Cesar Chavez’s hunger for Justice seared into his
heart when his father was swindled out of their home
farm in Yuma, Arizona. His father recuperated his land
but later lost it for unpaid taxes. It was a time when
there were no jobs and no money, during the Great
Depression of the 1930s.
The Chavez family migrated to California and worked
as migrant farm laborers. Cesar Chavez, a sturdy boy
with a full head of black hair, merely eleven years old,
in 1938, worked the crops. Thousands of Mexican
American families and their children labored from sun-
up to sun-set, day in and day out, year after year,
earning whatever the land-owning farm growers paid.
The use of pesticides, the heat, the long hours, poor
sanitation, and lack of pure drinking water made
working conditions unsafe. Civil authorities did not
help; the public in general did not care. Farm workers,
unlike employees in the auto industry, mines, and all
other employments, could not negotiate for their
benefits; they needed a labor union.
Cesar Chavez realized that escape from the prison of
poverty for farm laborers would be through hard work
and education. But how could this be, if a family spent
all their time working in the fields, migrating from one
job to the next? Cesar, himself, somehow managed to
graduate from the eighth grade after attending 37
schools. Some schools were segregated and when he
attended an integrated school he felt the stings of
racism, stares, punishment for speaking Spanish, and
isolation.
Cesar Chavez, like many other Mexican American youth
who enlist in the armed forces, escaped the barrio and
the farm fields when he enlisted in the U.S. Navy. Upon
his honorable discharge, Cesar went to work with the
Community Service Organization CSO as an organizer.
He learned community service and organizing.
Never forgetting the experiences of injustice suffered
by field laborers, and in his quest for Justice, Cesar
Chavez hungered to organize farm workers. In 1962
Cesar founded the National Farm Workers Association,
later named the United Farm Workers. He learned from
and was inspired by his studies of Jesus Christ,
Mahatma K. Gandhi, and Martin Luther King, Jr. In his
quest for justice Cesar united the spiritual sacrifice of
fasting, prayer, faith, and nonviolence with the union
activities of the Huelga (strike), marches under the
banners of Our Lady of Guadalupe and the Aztec
Eagle, boycotts, and getting support from distinct
groups across the nation.
The powerful Growers finally succumbed and
negotiated contracts with the United Farm Workers.
Cesar Chavez’ commitment to organize agricultural
workers resulted in increased wages, safety in the
work place, health benefits, and improved housing for
their families. His unity of his faith and the sacrifice of
farm laborers who harvested crops or worked with the
hoe is the life story of Cesar Chavez. His life
demonstrates a relationship of his heart and soul with
his union organizing activities.
Contact the Author
heart when his father was swindled out of their home
farm in Yuma, Arizona. His father recuperated his land
but later lost it for unpaid taxes. It was a time when
there were no jobs and no money, during the Great
Depression of the 1930s.
The Chavez family migrated to California and worked
as migrant farm laborers. Cesar Chavez, a sturdy boy
with a full head of black hair, merely eleven years old,
in 1938, worked the crops. Thousands of Mexican
American families and their children labored from sun-
up to sun-set, day in and day out, year after year,
earning whatever the land-owning farm growers paid.
The use of pesticides, the heat, the long hours, poor
sanitation, and lack of pure drinking water made
working conditions unsafe. Civil authorities did not
help; the public in general did not care. Farm workers,
unlike employees in the auto industry, mines, and all
other employments, could not negotiate for their
benefits; they needed a labor union.
Cesar Chavez realized that escape from the prison of
poverty for farm laborers would be through hard work
and education. But how could this be, if a family spent
all their time working in the fields, migrating from one
job to the next? Cesar, himself, somehow managed to
graduate from the eighth grade after attending 37
schools. Some schools were segregated and when he
attended an integrated school he felt the stings of
racism, stares, punishment for speaking Spanish, and
isolation.
Cesar Chavez, like many other Mexican American youth
who enlist in the armed forces, escaped the barrio and
the farm fields when he enlisted in the U.S. Navy. Upon
his honorable discharge, Cesar went to work with the
Community Service Organization CSO as an organizer.
He learned community service and organizing.
Never forgetting the experiences of injustice suffered
by field laborers, and in his quest for Justice, Cesar
Chavez hungered to organize farm workers. In 1962
Cesar founded the National Farm Workers Association,
later named the United Farm Workers. He learned from
and was inspired by his studies of Jesus Christ,
Mahatma K. Gandhi, and Martin Luther King, Jr. In his
quest for justice Cesar united the spiritual sacrifice of
fasting, prayer, faith, and nonviolence with the union
activities of the Huelga (strike), marches under the
banners of Our Lady of Guadalupe and the Aztec
Eagle, boycotts, and getting support from distinct
groups across the nation.
The powerful Growers finally succumbed and
negotiated contracts with the United Farm Workers.
Cesar Chavez’ commitment to organize agricultural
workers resulted in increased wages, safety in the
work place, health benefits, and improved housing for
their families. His unity of his faith and the sacrifice of
farm laborers who harvested crops or worked with the
hoe is the life story of Cesar Chavez. His life
demonstrates a relationship of his heart and soul with
his union organizing activities.
Contact the Author
Illustration by Jim
Covarrubias
Covarrubias
To learn more about the life and work of Cesar E. Chavez, visit the site of the Cesar E. Chavez Foundation |
| Bilingual Community Expression Published by the Hispanic Institute of Social Issues |
| BARRIOZONA |
| Hispanic Institute of Social Issues © 2006-2007 All rights reserved. webmaster@hisi.org |
| Por Dr. Santos C. Vega |
| CESAR E. CHAVEZ |