The Man, The Myth, The Legend:

Cesar ChavezBorn in 1927 into a Mexican-

American family residing outside of Yuma, Arizona

Thrust into farm labor after 8th grade graduation in order to help his mother

avoid the fields

Exposed early to the physical, mental and financial toll of

farm work

Motivated by persistence for the pursuit of justice

Driving ForcesDriving Forces

•His father, Librado, and the lesson of perseverance

•Fred Ross, Saul Alinksy, and the CSO

•Desire for education

Librado ChavezLost the family home when it was

sold out from underneath them, but failed to lose hope for the future

Had plans for his children to have the opportunity to go to college

Fred Ross, Saul Alinksy and the CSO

• Fred Ross sought out Chavez

• Mentored him in organizing style

• Ross's strength lay in his ways with people - a trait Chavez focused on learning

• Fred Ross was a student of Saul Alinksy

• Chavez was recruited to Los Angeles to work as part of Saul Alinsky's Community Service organization • Within the CSO,

Chavez learned the core basics of building a union

Education for Self-Empowerment

• Cesar understood that education was the key

to personal freedom

• In assisting the farm workers, he and his

wife also taught them to read and write, a crucial skill to have your desires heard

And in the beginning there

was...NFWA - National Farm Workers Association

Dolores Huerta

After which came....

THE UFWTHE UFW

United Farm Workers

A Successful UnionStarted with house meetings:

addressed problems with people from the community

Training of members:crucial to dedication, focused on legislative process

Developed community allies:churches, student groups, pre-existing organized labor groups

Dissolved race lines:members included those of Dominican, Mexican, Mexican-American, Filipino, African-American, Puerto Rican and Arab decent

Non-Violence: A Way of Life & Protest

Chavez loved animals and people alike, he

sought to be a gentle part of society

Inspired by Gandhi, Cesar incorporated

fasting into his non-violent protests

Organizing for Change

“Compromise was not the UFW way.”

-Fred Ross

Chavez and the UFW fought to make a lasting difference in the community

Gathering thousands of voices on paper, in signatures, and in the flesh, he gave people the power to help

themselves

“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.” - Cesar Chavez

CESAR CHAVEZ1927 - 1993