Cesar Estrada Chavez

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Cesar Estrada Chavez was born on March 31, 1927 on a farm near Yuma, Arizona. His family was originally from Northern Mexico (Chihuahua). His parents Librado and Juana Chavez raised their kids in Arizona's Gila valley. Cesar's father worked in his ranch and also owned his own store and pool hall. His father wasn't around a lot because of work so his mother Juana had a lot of influence on him. His mother taught him to be a non-violent person. She told him to turn the other cheek. Also she was a really religious person, a good Christian that also taught him to always help out poor people. In 1929 while the Great Depression Cesar's family lost the ranch. The family traveled to Oxnard, California wear they struggled to put a roof over their head and food on the table. So they moved from town to town in search for work. In 1944 Cesar joined the U.S Navy as a deckhand on a troop transport for 2 years. He joined so he would avoid getting drafted and being forced to fight in real gun fire. After he finished he moved to Delano, California. Their, one day in a theater he sat in an only white section. He didn't move so the police to him to jail and then later they released him because he didn't brake any laws. While he worked in a malt shop called "La Baratita" he entered a grocery wear he met his future wife Helen Fabela. At age 19 they got married and had 8 children. They moved to San Jose and then to Green field wear they tried to grow their own crops but it didn't work out so they moved to Cresent city and back to San Jose. Their Cesar worked as a carpenter and Helen at a limber mill. That wasn't enough for Cesar he wanted to do something that would make a difference and help out poor people. Cesar started to have community meetings and trying to make a difference. A man named Fred Ross herd about Cesar and hired him to work for the Community Service Organization (CSO). Their, he went on strike against growers because they were hiring braceros instead of American citizens. Braceros were people from Mexico who were not America citizens that were brought by the growers in buses to work for them for very low wages, so they had no legal rights.

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