How Cesar Chavez became a force for justice and equality

Published March 21, 2022
By Janis Carr Campus Update

Cesar Chavez was an American labor leader and civil rights activist, who along with Dolores Huerta, co-founded the National Farm Workers Association in 1962. The NFW later became the United Farm Workers labor union, representing farmworkers nationwide. 

He was also a community organizer, who championed for the environment, education and consumer rights, inspiring millions of Americans from all walks of life. According to his foundation, Chavez was “an uncommon man with an uncommon vision” who stood for equality, justice and dignity for all Americans. 

In honor of his birthday March 31, here are a few details about Chavez’s life. 

  • He was a first-generation Mexican American, who was born on March 31, 1927, near his family’s homestead outside of Yuma, Ariz. 
  • At 11 years old, his family lost their farm during the Great Depression, and they became migrant farmers who traveled throughout California. 
  • He quit school after the eighth grade to help support his family by working in the fields, orchards and vineyards where he first experienced the hardships of farmworker life. 
  • Spent two years in the U.S. Navy and after receiving an honorable discharge in 1946, he relocated to Delano, California where his family had moved. 
  • Married Helen Fabela, whom he met while working in the fields as a young man, and the couple had eight children.  
  • Founded the National Farm Workers Association with his life savings of $1,200. The NFWA became the United Farm Workers of America. 
  • In 1962, he turned down the position as head of the Latin American Peace Corps, offered by President John F. Kennedy, for a life of self-imposed poverty. “When you sacrifice, you force others to sacrifice. It’s an extremely powerful weapon,” Chavez said. 
  • For much of his life, he never earned more than $6,000 a year or owned a house. 
  • He died in 1993 and a year later, President Bill Clinton posthumously awarded Chavez the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the nation’s highest civilian honor, and the U.S. Navy named a ship after him in 2011. 

 

 

"A Song for Cesar" documents the musicians and artists who supported Cesar Chavez and his movement to improve the lives of farmworkers. It premieres this month at The Landmark Westwood theater. The documentary also explores other facets of Chavez's life, revelations that have not been shared on screen.