César Chávez and His Tireless Fight for Equality

Banished from their farms and forced to work as farms hands, Mexicans had to fight for equal rights they knew they deserved. Prior to the Great Depression, many Mexicans, skilled in agriculture, owned large ranches that they controlled. When the depression struck America in the 1930s, many of these ranch owners lost their land. Forced to work to keep their family afloat, they had to become menial farm hands for a white farmer. While Asian workers used to be the primary ethnic group working in agriculture, the Mexicans now dominated the field. Throughout the years, activists created labor reforms however, advocates for fair labor continued to neglect the plight of farm workers. The main reason for the neglect was due to the ethnicity of the agricultural workers. Mexicans seen as second-class citizens faced constant discrimination. Racists called them “Dirty Mexicans” and often described them as lazy and stupid. They faced similar discrimination that the African Americans endured. Banned from certain places, Mexican children had to attend a separate school, usually a decrepit building. Various Mexican men worked together to try to fight the discrimination in their social world as well as in the work place. In the 1960s and 70s, César Chávez decided to fight to equal working conditions. His family used to own a large ranch but lost it during the Great Depression and they had to become migrant farm workers. Chávez understood the struggles of a farm worker, he lived that life, but now he planned to change life of farm workers. Chávez knew this would not be an easy fight and he needed solidarity for even a chance at success. Chávez embraced the Mexican culture when trying to encourage people to join the cause. Suffering from discrimina...

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...s, he knew that the best way to get the farm workers invested was to embrace the collective identity that the Mexicans cherished. He first made a flag to symbolize his cause. He then used religion to encourage more people to join. However, the main reason Mexicans joined his cause was because they trusted him; he was one of them. He spoke Spanish, was uneducated and most importantly, he was a farm worker just like them. Chávez used these to encourage people to join his cause and consequently he succeeded. Growers signed contracts with farm workers for fair wages and working conditions. César Chávez devoted his life to improving the lives to countless Mexicans Americans. He did not give up until all Mexicans Americans received the same rights as white workers. People remember today Chávez today as the man who orchestrated the most successful farm workers revolution.