Cesar Chavez

A lot of civil rights movements were nonviolent. There are many examples of these great leaders like Mohandas K. Gandhi, Martin Luther King Jr and Cesar Chavez all used nonviolent methods to make a difference. Although all these amazing leaders made a difference none of them made such a great impact to my life like Cesar Chavez did.
Cesar Chavez is from Yuma, Arizona but his parents were from Mexico. Cesar E. Chavez was an American farm worker, labor leader, and civil rights activist who co-founded the National Farm Workers Association, which later became the United Farm Workers. Chavez as a child often moved a lot with his family to look for work. His parents were a big influence on his principles on hard work, the importance of education, and respect. I think what connected me the most to him was the fact that he was Hispanic like me. I’ve read his biography and it states his family use to work in fields. I have heard many stories from my uncles and grandfather about working in the fields. From what they tell me they worked long hours in harsh conditions. They would work from sunrise to sunset, constantly bending to grab the fruit or vegetables. It was a lot of physical labor which caused them to have back problems now.
Chavez fought for the legal rights of farm workers, and for clean drinking water in the fields, as well as the right to have access to use bathrooms. These little changes helped my family a lot. Cesar also formed Cesar Chavez's movement inspired the founding of two Midwestern independent unions: Obreros Unidos in Wisconsin in 1966, and the Farm Labor Organizing Committee in Ohio in 1967. Former Union Farmer Workers organizers would also found the Texas Farm Workers Union in 1975. He also led varies protests. An example would be his protest against pesticide. His protest led to many changes in the fields.
Cesar's motto, " Si se puede!" ("Yes, it can be done!"), has a lot of meaning. Its the motto of the United Farm Workers. In 1972, during Cesar Chavez's 24 day fast in Phoenix, Arizona, he and UFW's co-founder, Dolores Huerta, came up with the slogan. My grandpa you can say adopted this slogan too. When life seemed hard he would say there words and it would give me a little bit of hope. When I was younger I had a fear of heights. There was this really big slide in my neighborhood park. I would always try to go up the stairs but I could never reach the top. My grandpa went to the park with me this one time and he said “Si tu puedes”, which is yes you can in Spanish. He repeated it over and over until finally I was repeating it myself. As I was saying it I kept on going higher and higher, then there I was at the top of the slide. I did not look down but I admired the wind in my face as I went down and felt accomplished.
He also fought for our human right, rights that we are entitled to because we human beings. Life, liberty and freedom from slavery, freedom from torture, or cruel or degrading treatment or punishment, equality, freedom of thought, conscience and religion, peaceful assembly and association, work, health and education. These are a few examples of human rights that Chavez fought for. He was really big on education. He was really determined to decrease the dropout rate in Latinos. He felt education was the way to a better life. I also agree that education is the key to a better life. This is why I’m really trying in school because I want to get a better life than what my parents had for me. I don’t want the same for my family. I saw my mother struggle because she didn’t have a high school diploma.
Chavez like other great leaders used peaceful methods of protest. He used fasting like Gandhi. He fasted for 25 days to confirm the UFW's commitment to non-violence. The Senator Robert F. Kennedy called Cesar "one of the heroic figures of our time," and flew to Delano to be with him when he ended the fast. He also led a boycott against grapes. It was very successful helping improve the working conditions of farm workers and paying them a fair wage.
Although questions were raised about his effectiveness in later years, Cesar Chavez had become an important symbol for Latinos, community activists, the labor movement, teens, and all who valued his values and commitment. He had accomplished something that no one else had ever been able to do build a union for farmworkers.