Cesar Chavez Civil Rights Movement

Born on March 31, 1927 near Yuma, Arizona, Cesar Chavez grew up to be a renowned union leader and labor organizer. Chavez learned about injustice rather early in his life. In school, he was discriminated against for his Mexican heritage and his farm worker/migrant way of life. His experiences lead him to bring attention to the difficulty of farmworkers and the issue of civil rights. Chavez ran into many situations that he would dedicate his life to changing: harsh migrant camps, corrupt labor contractors, low wages, and racism. He was introduced to labor organizing in 1952 when he met Father Donald McDonnell, an activist Catholic priest, and Fred Ross, a member of the Community Service Organization, who recruited Cesar to join the group. After working as a community and labor
Caesar was strongly opposed to the war in Vietnam. He assisted the protest by the National Chicano Moratorium, in which a demonstration of over 30,000 was held on Aug. 29, 1970 in East Los Angeles. That protest focused national attention to the fact that Mexican American youth were being drafted and killed in excessive numbers by the war. In regards to environment issues, he brought national awareness to the dangers of pesticides to workers' health and the crops being grown. In response to the grape industry’s denial to restrict the use of pesticides on its crops in 1984, Chavez established an international boycott of table grapes. To conclude, Cesar Chavez wholeheartedly committed himself to the problems of farm/ migrant workers in America. The movements he inspired succeeded in raising wages and improving working conditions for farm workers in states such as California, Texas, Arizona, and Florida. However, in the end, Chavez gave his life to fight for the cause. It is presumed that Chavez's hunger strikes and fasting contributed to his death. He died in San Luis, Arizona on April 23,