Cesar Chavez
Who was Cesar Chavez? What qualities define him? What were the pivotal moments in his life and how did they shape him? How am I like or different from him? These questions arise as you begin to wonder about a person. I want students to focus on the pivotal moments which help to shape a life. Most students, when you ask them to write a biography of someone, they will use the chronology format in which they give basic facts such as the year a person was born and where, what school did he attend, if he married, how many children he had, where he worked, when he died, among others. Although these facts are important to help develop a full picture of someone's life, they do not directly explain how a life is shaped. When reviewing information on Cesar Chavez, I began to categorize the facts of his life and determine what were the moments or the people behind those moments that greatly influenced his life. I decided upon four: the loss of his family home leading his family into a migrant lifestyle; his mother and grandmother's influence on the ideals of his life's philosophy; his experiences of discrimination in school and the community; and his work with the community service organizations.
Cesar's family lived on what was his father's family's large ranch near Yuma, Arizona. Each of the family members worked on the farm no matter what their age. Cesar and his siblings found themselves feeding the animals, and gathering eggs, among other chores. It was here that he knew migrant workers as they came to work on their farm. He understood that they were very poor people who worked for only a small amount of money, food, or a place to sleep. However, on their farm, his father had built kitchens and showers for them. They always had enough food and a place to sleep. 17 Cesar grew up during the Great Depression. Due to falling farm products' prices, farmers were forced to borrow money for their future crops and to sustain their families' needs. Later, after the fall harvest, they would pay back the money that they had borrowed. 18 One year, when Cesar was ten years old, Librado, Cesar's father, had not made enough money during the fall harvest and was unable to get a loan to pay back his debt. The farm was taken away from them.
Cesar's family members were forced to become migrant farm workers in 1937. Their living and working conditions were very different from how Cesar's family had treated their migrant farm workers. Cesar's parents and siblings – eight in total – traveled from farm to farm looking for work throughout the year. They lived in one-room shacks made of sheet metal or sometimes even tents. There was no running water or bathroom. If living conditions were horrible, working conditions were worse. In the fields there were no bathrooms and many times no water to drink during the hard, hot work. The workers participated in "stoop labor" 19 in which they bent over to pick vegetables or cotton. They also used a short handle hoe of only 18 inches that also made them have severe back issues. 20 Many workers had permanent back damage at a young age. Workers had to pay for everything: the shack, tools, gloves, and food. 21 One time, Cesar's family did not even have enough money to pay for the gasoline to get to the next farm to work. They had to wait until money was sent to them from a distant family member. Pesticides were used to protect the plants. These were very dangerous to the workers. It got on their skin. They also drank from the irrigation ditches into which it flowed. Many became sick or died. 22 For all of this hard work they were paid very little. They did not complain because they needed a job and were afraid of losing the only opportunity they had to sustain their families.
As a youngster, his mother, Juana, instilled in him the idea of serving others. This began with the example she gave by never turning away anyone who needed food. She "believed it was her Christian duty to help the poor." 23 At times, she would even send her children to find someone who might be homeless or in need of a meal. She expected nothing in return, although many wanted to work for what they had received. Juana always had dichos (Mexican proverbs) and stories for children about honesty, obedience, and non-violence. Cesar recollected that her dichos had a purpose. He remembers that all of her stories "were about obedience and honesty and some of the virtues." 24
When I look back, I see her sermons had a tremendous impact on me. I didn't know it was nonviolence then, but after reading Gandhi, St. Francis, and other exponents of nonviolence, I began to clarify that in my mind. Now that I'm older I see she is nonviolent, if anybody is, both by word and deed. She would always talk about not fighting. Despite a culture where you're not a man if you don't fight back, she would say, 'No, it's best to turn the other cheek. God gave you senses like eyes and mind and tongue, and you can get out of anything.' She would say, 'It takes two to fight. That was her favorite. "It takes two to fight and one can't do it alone.' She had all kinds of proverbs for that. 'It's better to say that he ran from here than to say he died here.' When I was young I didn't realize the wisdom in her words, but it has been proved to me so many times since. 25
Cesar's grandmother, Dorotea, better known as Mama Tella, was another influential person in Cesar's life. He attributes his religious education and dedication to her. From a very young age, he remembers his elderly, almost blind grandmother sitting on the bed always praying. She had grown up in a convent. He would join her in the reciting of the Rosary after which she would tell them about a saint and "drill us in our catechism." 26 Her religious training was so thorough that a priest in Yuma allowed Cesar and his sister, Rita, to skip the church's Communion classes. Her influence instilled an importance of religion.
Your religion just happens to depend a lot on your upbringing and your culture. For me, Christianity happens to be a natural source of faith. I have read what Christ said when he was here. He was very clear in what he meant and knew exactly what he was after. He was extremely radical, and he was for social change. 27
Incidences of discrimination and racism stung Cesar as he grew up in the Southwest. "Signs in stores and restaurants read 'WHITE TRADE ONLY.' Such signs also kept out African Americans and Asian Americans. But other signs made it clear what group was being singled out. They read 'NO DOGS OR MEXICANS ALLOWED.'" 28 This type of racism may have been in response to the fact that this part of the country had once been a part of Mexico. The United States forcefully took over the land in 1846. Mexican culture was very prevalent, and this worried some of the Anglos living there. In Jacques Levy's biography of Cesar, she writes, "He never forgot his father's look of hurt and shock at being ordered from a coffee shop because he was Mexican-American." 29 Another incident which he vividly remembered was when he was out on a date with his future wife, Helen Fabela. While on leave from his service in the Navy, they went to see a movie and were told to move from their seats as they had settled in the Anglo section. They were told to go to Mexican-American section. When he refused, they were escorted out of the theatre. 30
In school, Cesar also faced difficulties which led to his dislike of the institution and experience. From the beginning, he did not care for it. He finished the eighth grade after attending several dozen schools. A point of contention in school was the Spanish language. Most students came from homes in which Spanish was the native language. At school, the teachers spoke English and insisted that the students did as well. This was difficult for Cesar, who did not know English well. Teachers told children they should go back to Mexico if they wanted to speak Spanish. He felt embarrassed and humiliated much of the time as he was acquiring the English language. Many times teachers ridiculed students when they were unable to pronounce a word correctly. He said, "It's a terrible thing when you have your own language and customs, and those are shattered. I remember trying to find out who I was and not being able to understand." 31 Teachers also punished those who chose to use the Spanish language. Cesar remembers, "When we spoke Spanish, the teacher swooped down on us. I remember the ruler whistling through the air as its edge came down sharply across my knuckles. It really hurt. Even out in the playground, speaking Spanish brought punishment. The principal had a special paddle that looked like a two by four with a handle on it. The wood was smooth from a lot of use. He would grab us, even the girls, put our head between his legs, and give it to us." 32
This discrimination, racism, and oppression were at the heart of what Cesar later fought for. He once said, "How could we progress as a people, even if we lived in the cities, while the farm workers – men and women of our color – were condemned to a life without pride? How could our people believe that their children could become lawyers and doctors and judges and business people while this shame, this injustice, was permitted to continue?" 33
All of these experiences led him to his life-long work of improving the working and living conditions for migrant farm workers. He had first-hand experience of toiling in the fields for very little money. His mother had instilled in him an idea of non-violence and giving to others. He knew the discrimination he had faced was not right and that his people deserved better. Perhaps one memory particularly resonated with Cesar and his interest in organizing people to fight for their rights. In 1939, when his father joined a union in a winter job that he held packing dried fruit, there was a strike, and he saw people coming together to make a change. Although they lost, as strikebreakers were hired to do the work, this experience had a profound impact on Cesar. 34 Over the years, he saw his father join union after union in hope of a change.
Two people had an effect on Cesar's involvement in organizing others to fight for justice: Father Donald McDonnell and Fred Ross. Father McDonnell came into Cesar's neighborhood, Sal Si Puedes (Leave If You Can), to give mass. Their conversations centered on farm workers and the problems they faced. He gave Cesar books to read about great men, great leaders such as St. Francis and Gandhi. 35 Then, he met Fred Ross, an Anglo who worked for the Community Services Organization (CSO) that collaborated with poor people to help to change their communities for the better. Cesar volunteered to help organize people to register to vote. In two months, he registered over 4,000 first-time Mexican Americans voters. He was then asked to be an employee of CSO, organizing people in Oakland, and later in the San Joaquin Valley. His leadership and organizational abilities were evident in all that he did in the name of CSO. In 1958, he was named CSO's national director. During this time they were fighting against the government's Bracero program. Companies were able to hire workers if there were not enough Americans for the work that was available. Companies did so illegally to pay lower wages. Cesar exposed this.
His true desire was to form a union in the name of farm workers. CSO was not interested in this idea. So, four years later, Chavez, with $1200 in savings, left CSO to form his own organization, which he called the National Farm Workers Association (NFWA), later known as United Farm Workers (UFW). In 1965, the NFWA led a strike of California grape-pickers in the Delano area to demand higher wages. This strike lasted five years and was very difficult for the farm workers and their families. The union received supplemental funds from other unions such as the Autoworkers to help the families. Cesar organized marches and boycotts to further their cause. People were sent to cities around the country to help encourage people to boycott table grapes as a show of support. There were many other supporters: civil rights groups and workers, Robert Kennedy, Martin Luther King, union leaders, the Pope, and churches. There was proof that the farm workers had power together. Then, they were able to bargain for better wages and working conditions. In 1968, Chavez began a 25-day hunger strike, which brought attention to the cause. In 1977, UFW finally was able to organize their farm workers. "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". 36 Cesar's example demonstrates how this can happen.
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