On March 31, don’t try to contact state offices in California, Nevada, Wisconsin, Utah and Arizona. These states close their offices and schools in remembrance of Cesar Chavez. In 2014, President Barack Obama declared the day a “commemorative proclamation holiday” in the United States. Who is Cesar Chavez and why is he being honored? He started out in humble beginnings but went on to become a civil rights activist for migrant farm workers.
Chavez was born in 1927 on March 31 in Arizona. His parents owned a grocery store and a ranch, but they lost their property during the Great Depression, which caused them to move to California. The family picked different crops throughout the year to support themselves. Chavez dropped out of school when he was in seventh grade to work full time in the fields. At 19, he enlisted in the United States Navy, but served only two years before going back home to his family and working on the farms.
From Farm Worker to Activist
“The fight is never about grapes or lettuce. It is always about people.” Cesar Chavez
In 1952, when Chavez was 25, he organized the Community Service Organization (CSO) and began to travel throughout California urging Mexican-Americans to register to vote. He spoke to people about workers’ rights. Six years later, he was named as CSO’s national director, but he only served in this position until 1962.
Chavez, along with Dolores Huerta, founded the National Farm Workers Association, which would become the United Farm Workers (UFW). The UFW organized for higher wages for farm workers, especially those in Arizona and California. His civil disobedience acts were always influenced by nonviolence, in the tradition of Mohandas Gandhi.
Eventually, Chavez would have to turn to legislative actions to make a difference. The UFW organized a march from San Francisco to a winery 110 miles away. By the time the group reached the winery in Modesto, 15,000 people had joined in. Governor Jerry Brown recognized that the UFW was supported by the voters and signed a bill that allowed farmworkers to use collective bargaining.
Unfortunately, the UFW faced a few years of setbacks following the march. Chavez and other members of the UFW clashed over policies and the direction of the UFW. Chavez attempted to contact the Filipino-American farmworkers, which backfired on him. He was seen to be endorsing the current government in the Philippines, which was a dictatorship. This caused at least one prominent board member to resign from the organization, a huge blow.
Chavez also tried to get into real estate development in the 1980s, when the UFW seemed to be declining. He used non-union construction workers in some of his projects, for which he received a lot of criticism. But he never forgot his roots, and he continued to fight for better working conditions and wages for farm workers.
Cesar Chavez’s Legacy
The UFW calls itself the nation’s “first successful and largest farm workers union.” The organization supports civil rights in the agriculture industry, protecting the rights of field workers who pick fruits and vegetables, dairy workers and winery employees. It’s still a vital organization working hard to make sure the nation’s agriculture industry operates fairly.
Chavez’s black nylon union jacket was given to the National Museum of American History after his death. Even though he never attended college, many university buildings have been given his name. The Navy even named one of its cargo ships in his honor, even though Chavez admitted that the two years he spent in the Navy were the worst in his life. In 1994, Chavez was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom, which his widow accepted. He’s been inducted into the California Hall of Fame.
The list of Chavez’s memorials is too long to mention here. However, it’s important to know this man who changed history for thousands of farm workers and their families.