Adriana Zagal English 144B/8am Prof.

Gifford 27 April 2014 With Hard Work Everything is Possible All the people recognized in our country have had to go through thick and thin to get their message to be heard by everyone. They were just ordinary people who were probably tired of living the way they did and wanted to make change in their society. Those people have to have fought against the people who thought their opinion meant nothing and there was no need for change. This would be a great explanation of what Cesar Chavez had to face to be able to make a change in our society. Chavez grew up facing against poverty and prejudice when in his childhood he worked picking cotton and grapes. At the age of 35, Chavez was tired of seeing how much inequality the farmworkers had that he once experienced, that he decided to take a stand. He at that age quit his job as a community organizer and instead was committed to create a labor union for farmworkers to bring. Although Cesar Chavez lived a hard life growing up, he was able to unity other Chicanos that had suffered the same way as he did by speaking on behalf their stories of economic, political, and racial injustice to make a change in social justice. Chavez was just an ordinary man in his community who had no sense of power in any sort of politics, yet he was able to get many Chicanos to follow his movement. He knew exactly how to talk to them because of his previous experience in his life when he was one of those farmworkers picking cotton and grapes. He was able to gather individual stories from many of

the farmworkers of all the injustice they had all faced. From there he was able to talk on behalf of all Mexican descendants to spread the word and let people know what others are going through. Miriam Pawel, wrote in Chavezs Jacket about how Chavez hard work let him create an entitlement to protect California farmworkers union activity which led to them having, a sense of their own powerthey could demand dignity and better wages (Powel). Chavez main goal was partly achieved when he was able to get California farmworkers some sort of unionization and help them out with a bit. To make sure that he had the support he needed he had to find ways to get most people to follow him. Park Koo-Byoung, in his academic journal Cesar Chavez transformed: From Organizer to the Farm Workers Movement to the Spiritual Symbol of the Chicano Movement, talks about how Chavez was able to get more followers due to his strategic methods of, nonviolent acts of resistance to authority, fasting, prayer, and meditation. He came across as a symbol of ethnic identity (Koo-Byoung). Chavez thought that he was just an ordinary labor organizer and not an ethnic movement leader as everyone said. Yet to most of the Chicanos following him, they thought his goal was, to assert pride in their ethnic heritage and affirm their cultural citizenship (Koo-Byoung). Chavez was just an ordinary civilian trying to make sure that all his people got the same kind of treatment no matter what their job was. Chavez did not think he was going to become so big, or that he would become a Chicano movement leader. His goal was just to help out farmworkers and other low wage paid workers, but in the end he ends up helping a whole ethnic group. To make sure that he was able to accomplish everything that he wanted to he created the United Farm Workers (UFW) in 1962. The UFW was supposed to help farmworkers to achieve unionization and also let the Americans know about the plight of farmworkers and other low

aged workers in the country. Juan R. Garcia mentioned in his book review of Beyond the Fields: Cesar Chavez, the UFW, and the struggle for Justice in the 21st century exactly what Chavez and the UFW tactics were to get started, these included boycotts, fasting, grassroots community organizing, voter registration, and appeals to spiritual values (Garcia). To make sure that this was all possible the UFW had to make sure that it has a stable support system that included attracting more volunteers. Most of the people involved in UFW were volunteer ranks from the farmworker community and college students that thought that the cause and support was well led by Chavez and his team for civil rights and especial to the fact that it was an antiwar stance. Chavez had a great impact even with the younger generations due to the fact that he just wanted justice to be done and most college students want the best for most people in their country. In the book review by Mario T. Garcia, on Beyond the Fields: and The Union of Their Dream: it mentions how their first stance took place in, 1965 with the beginning of the historic grape strike, highlighted by the equality historic grape boycott that ultimately forced the large corporate grape growers of the San Joaquin Valley to accept unionization in 1970 (Garcia). Many who participated in the grape boycott realized that even doing the smallest thing like not buying grapes could help force historic change. Chavez wanted to make sure that people knew how much those farmworkers suffered injustice and that they were tired of it and wanted something to be done for them. The UFW and Chavez were able to complete many tasks they had in mind to make sure that not only farmworkers but other workers going through the same thing were able to be heard and maybe even helped out for the better. In his struggle to help out the Chicano community he was able to work along a group called the Black Panther Party (BPP). The BPP was an African American, militant, and socialist

group that fought for equality and justice just as UFW did. The difference between them was that they tended to use violence while the UFW were nonviolent and of Mexican background. Despite their differences UFW and the BPP got together for the same cause and would help each other in the way. In the journal article by Lauren Araiza, In Common Struggle Against A Common Oppression: The United Farm Workers and the Black Panther Party, she mentions how the two groups would help each other because; They saw each other a commonly oppressed victims of the capitalist ruling class. It was this willingness and ability to find classbased commonalities across racial lines that enabled the UFW and the BPP to form alliance (Araiza). Both groups had a goal to make sure that their people were receiving the same exact treatment as others and that there was no separation. Joining together would make them even stronger and would help out get their words out to others. Once the UFW and BPP started working together they were able to receive even more support due to the fact that they all had their people who they already worked with. The first project that they worked together without planning it was the boycott against the Safeway grocery store, the largest consumer of California grapes in 1969. The UFW decided to conduct a second boycott but this time against the Safeway grocery store because the organizer of the group Fred Ross thought it, would serve to galvanize and draw minority and progressive groups to their cause (Araiza). Once the BPP heard what the UFW was trying to do they took their side and decided to them as well would support the boycott. With that decision being made, it brought consequences to them. The Safeway grocery store would no longer donate food to the BPP breakfast they had for so many people in their community. Both groups were then able to find a way to help each other in other causes. They also helped each other to make sure that Proposition 22 was not passed which stated that; secondary boycotts such as the ones the UFW conducted

against Safeway grocery stores during the grape boycott would be illegal"For anyone [including the striking union workers] to say 'Boycott lettuce' would be a crime, punishable by fine and imprisonment (Araiza). The two groups battled alongside to make sure that they were doing the right things to help others. They were able to accomplish a lot in a short amount of time working side by side, but there always comes a time when people have to break apart. The UFW and the BPP coalition led to the breakup of their alliance, but how Lauren Ariaza stated that it, should not be viewed as a complete failure By uniting around their common interests, each organization benefited from the alliance (Araiza). Each group was able to become powerful due to their contribution to one another. Both groups were able to get support from their communities making sure that their group would still keep its original goal. They were able to accomplish things they wouldnt have been able to do on their own. Cesar Chavez first goal in his start of becoming a community organizing was to make sure that farmworkers had equal justice. He wanted them to have a wage that they deserved and better working conditions that would benefit them. In the process of making change he was able to gather so many more people to support his movement. He started boycotts and strikes to make sure that not only people in his community but other people especially in California knew what farmworkers were going through. Kate Pickert, in Seeds of Change, talks about the things he was able to accomplish for others but the, most important contribution may have been humanizing the Latino population for the American public (Pickert). Even though he was not trying to make this a Chicano movement he was able grasp especially the attention of the Latinos in California. In California in past time the Latinos were looked as second class and were not paid most

attention, but thanks to Chavez they were being recognized as American citizen but especially people whose opinions matter. Due to Chavez hard work farmworkers and low wage workers were able to receive unionization. Even sometimes the companies they worked for would be willing to make a change for them and make sure that they had a word. Like Pawel said, "Chavez's legacy is not in the field, which is sad his organizing strategies, featured extensively in Cesar Chavez, have been adopted by other activists, including those leading the modern immigrant-rights movement (Pawel). From all his work he did he was able to inspire other leaders who were trying to make a change as well due to his, values of nonviolence and social justice but they also learned how to organize at the grassroots level by giving others a sense of their own empowerment and ability to produce meaningful change (Garcia). People did not only follow him for the message that he was trying to make knowledge to everyone but by the way he was able to do it. He was a man of well respect due to the fact that he was not violent or disrespectful, he just spoke his opinion and started boycott that committed no harm to anyone. He was able to help out farmworkers then and thanks to his movement he was able to help even works now and also other social struggle that there used to be in our country. Cesar Chavez was just an ordinary man, who had suffered in his childhood and still growing up he saw the struggle that was going on in his community. He decided to take a stand that he knew would help at least a couple of people to make their lives a bit better. Chavez struggled to get where he wanted to, even going to prison, but he still did not give up. He wanted to make sure that his peoples voices were heard by everyone and that they saw what they all went through. He made a huge difference for workers and even the Chicano community that seemed to not receive any help from anyone around them.

Work Cited 1. Araiza, Lauren. "In Common Struggle Against A Common Oppression": The United Farm Workers And The Black Panther Party, 1968-1973." Journal Of African American History 94.2 (2009): 200-223. Academic Search Premier. Web. 30 Apr. 2014. 2. Garca, Juan R. "Beyond The Fields: Cesar Chavez, The UFW, And The Struggle For Justice In The 21St Century." Journal Of American Ethnic History 31.4 (2012): 100-102. Academic Search Premier. Web. 30 Apr. 2014. 3. Garca, Mario T. "Beyond The Fields: Cesar Chavez, The UFW, And The Struggle For Justice In The 21St Century/The Union Of Their Dreams: Power, Hope, And Struggle In Cesar Chavez's Farm Worker Movement." Journal Of American History 97.2 (2010): 469-471. Academic Search Premier. Web. 30 Apr. 2014. 4. Koo-Byoung, Park. "Csar Chvez Transformed: From Organizer Of The Farm Workers' Movement To The Spiritual Symbol Of The Chicano Movement". (English)." Asian Journal Of Latin American Studies 24.3 (2011): 73-96. Academic Search Premier. Web. 30 Apr. 2014. 5. Pawel, Miriam. "Chavez's Jacket." Smithsonian 41.7 (2013): 41-42. Academic Search Premier. Web. 30 Apr. 2014. 6. Pickert, Kate. "Seeds Of Change." Time 183.13 (2014): 55. Academic Search Premier. Web. 30 Apr. 2014.