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César Chávez

César Estrada Chávez was born on March 31, 1927 near Yuma, Arizona, the second of nine children. César was named after his grandfather who escaped from slavery on a Mexican ranch and arrived in Arizona during the 1880’s. His grandparents homesteaded more than one hundred acres in the Gila Valley and raised 14 children. Chávez' father, Librado, started his family in 1924 when he married Juana Estrada.

The Formative Years:

Learning About Injustice At An Early Age

As a young Mexican-American growing up in Arizona, César was acquainted with prejudice and injustice from an early age. In one significant incident, the small adobe home where César was born was swindled from his family by dishonest businessmen. Young César (pictured here with his sister) learned a lesson about injustice that he would never forget. Later, he would say, "The love for justice that is in us is not only the best part of our being, but it is also the most true to our nature."

César began school at age 7, but he found it difficult because his family spoke only Spanish. He preferred to learn from his uncles and grandparents who read to him in Spanish. And, César learned many things from his mother. She believed violence and selfishness were wrong, and she taught these lessons to her children.

In the 1930s, César Chávez' father lost his business because of the Great Depression, and the family moved back to the ranch. However in 1937, a severe drought forced the family to give up the ranch. The next year, César and his family packed their belongings and headed to California in search of work. In California, they became part of the migrant community, traveling from farm to farm to pick fruits and vegetables during the harvest, living in numerous migrant camps and often sleeping in their car.

César attended more than 30 elementary schools, frequently encountering cruel discrimination. In 1942 he graduated from the eighth grade. Because his father, Librado, had been in an accident and he did not want his mother, Juana, to work in the fields, César could not to go to high school. Instead, he quit school and worked full-time in the vineyards.

While César's childhood school education was not the best, later in life, education was his passion. The walls of his United Farm Worker Headquarters office in Keene, California were lined with hundreds of books ranging from philosophy, economics, cooperatives and unions, to biographies on Gandhi and the Kennedy’s. César believed that, "The end of all education should surely be service to others", a belief that he practiced his entire life.

In 1944, César Chávez joined the U. S. Navy at age 17 and served in World War II. After completing duty two years, he returned to California. In 1948 César married Helen Fabela, moved into a one-room shack in Delano, and started their family – first Fernando, then Sylvia, then Linda, and five more children followed.

Back To The Fields

& Some First Lessons In Organizing

César Chávez once again returned to working in the fields, but he began to fight for change. He soon took part in his first strike in protest of low wages and poor working conditions. However, within several days the workers were forced back to the fields. César later went to San Jose where he met and was influenced by Father Donald McDonnell. They talked about farm workers and strikes. He began reading about St. Francis, Gandhi and nonviolence.

In 1952, César met Fred Ross, who was part of a group called the Community Service Organization (CSO) formed by Saul Alinsky. Chávez became part of the organization and began urging Mexican-Americans to register and vote. He traveled throughout California making speeches in support of workers' rights. César became general director of CSO in 1958.

Four years later in 1962, César left CSO to form his own organization, which he called the National Farm Workers Association (NFWA), later to become the United Farm Workers (UFW). In 1965, César Chávez and the NFWA led a strike of California grape-pickers to demand higher wages. César would urge the farm laborers of America to proclaim, “Sí se puede! — Yes, we can!” In addition to the strike, they encouraged all Americans to boycott table grapes as a show of support.

Finally, A Reluctant Nation Pays Attention

The strike lasted five years and attracted national attention. In 1968, César began a fast to call attention to the migrant workers' cause. Although his dramatic act did little to solve the immediate problems, it increased public awareness of the problem. In April 1968, two months before being shot and killed in a Los Angeles hotel in June, U. S. Senator Robert Kennedy (one of the Chávez's and the UFW's earliest Congressional supporters) met with César and offered him some bread, just as he was breaking his fast.

In the early 1970s, the UFW organized strikes and boycotts to get higher wages from grape and lettuce growers. During the 1980s, Chávez led a boycott to protest the use of toxic pesticides on grapes. He again fasted to draw public attention. These strikes and boycotts generally ended with the signing of bargaining agreements.

His Legacy: A Moses Who Still Inspires

César Chávez died on April 23, 1993 of unspecified natural causes. His birthday, March 31st, is celebrated in California, Texas and other states, the first and only holiday honoring a Mexican-American. And, a U. S. Postage Stamp has been created in his honor.

On August 8, 1994, at a White House ceremony, Helen Chávez, César's widow, accepted the Medal of Freedom for her late husband from President Clinton. In the citation accompanying America's highest civilian honor, the President lauded César Chávez, saying:

"He faced formidable, often violent opposition with dignity and nonviolence. And he was victorious. César Chávez left our world better than he found it, and his legacy inspires us still. He was for his own people a Moses figure. The farm workers who labored in the fields and yearned for respect and self-sufficiency pinned their hopes on this remarkable man who, with faith and discipline, soft spoken humility and amazing inner strength, led a very courageous life."

César Chávez never earned more than $5,000 a year.