Cesar Chavez
Cesar Chavez
“Sí, se puede,” announced Cesar Chavez during his fight for Hispanic immigrant equality. This quote means, “Yes, one can” or “Yes, it can be done.” This slogan was well known during Cesar Chavez’s protests and is still widely known by the American-Hispanic community. Cesar Chavez was born on March 31, 1927 in Yuma, Arizona. He was born into an American-Mexican family of six children. His parents, Juana Estrada and Librado Chávez, named him after his grandfather, Cesario. His family owned a grocery store and ranch, but, during the Great Depression, his family was forced to sell their land. His father also had to sell their house in exchange for the deed to the house, which was broken. His father was not able to buy the house back so his family decided to move to California and become migrant farm workers.
He and his family moved from place to place to pick seasonal fruits from all over California. They picked everything from peas and lettuce to grapes and cotton. After quitting school in the tenth grade, at the age of 15, after having worked on the farm for many years, he decided to join the United States Navy at the age of seventeen, where he served two years. Upon returning, he married his high school sweetheart, Helen Fabela, and moved to San Jose, California.
After moving to San Jose with his new wife, he began to work on the fields once again. He then joined the CSO, a Latino civil rights group. While in that group, Chavez urged Mexican Americans to register and vote as well as traveled throughout California and made speeches about workers’ rights and how the farm workers could defend them. However, this was not his biggest achievement. His biggest achievement was the creation of his own association, called the NFWA.
Chavez created the National Farm Works Association with his friend, Dolores Huetra. The group was later named the United Farm Workers. This organization was formed due to a strike known as the Delano Grape Strike during which
“Sí, se puede,” announced Cesar Chavez during his fight for Hispanic immigrant equality. This quote means, “Yes, one can” or “Yes, it can be done.” This slogan was well known during Cesar Chavez’s protests and is still widely known by the American-Hispanic community. Cesar Chavez was born on March 31, 1927 in Yuma, Arizona. He was born into an American-Mexican family of six children. His parents, Juana Estrada and Librado Chávez, named him after his grandfather, Cesario. His family owned a grocery store and ranch, but, during the Great Depression, his family was forced to sell their land. His father also had to sell their house in exchange for the deed to the house, which was broken. His father was not able to buy the house back so his family decided to move to California and become migrant farm workers.
He and his family moved from place to place to pick seasonal fruits from all over California. They picked everything from peas and lettuce to grapes and cotton. After quitting school in the tenth grade, at the age of 15, after having worked on the farm for many years, he decided to join the United States Navy at the age of seventeen, where he served two years. Upon returning, he married his high school sweetheart, Helen Fabela, and moved to San Jose, California.
After moving to San Jose with his new wife, he began to work on the fields once again. He then joined the CSO, a Latino civil rights group. While in that group, Chavez urged Mexican Americans to register and vote as well as traveled throughout California and made speeches about workers’ rights and how the farm workers could defend them. However, this was not his biggest achievement. His biggest achievement was the creation of his own association, called the NFWA.
Chavez created the National Farm Works Association with his friend, Dolores Huetra. The group was later named the United Farm Workers. This organization was formed due to a strike known as the Delano Grape Strike during which