Cesar Chavez Farm Workers Movement

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What does it take to get hundreds of people to walk 300 miles? Well for Cesar Chavez it took will and a cause. Cesar believed in equal work rights for everyone, and he organized the Farm Workers Movement. Cesar is a mexican american and his movement focuses on their rights, he believed in nonviolence and that's how he led his protest, his movement spread across the nation. Cesar’s focus was on mexican- americans because of the work they did in the field and his family heritage. Cesar’s parents originated from Mexico, but his siblings and him are from Yuma, Arizona. They later moved to California to try and find work, Cesar saw the struggles of his father, mother, and siblings. When he was older he realized from working in the fields that…show more content…
to go on strike. He then organized the United Farm Workers Movement (UFW). Once they had the workers, he traveled all around California to try and gather the most supporters they could. His main focus was on bigger groups such as colleges, churches, schools, and consumers. He says he did this because “The more people we have, the bigger the army is, and the harder it will be to tear us down.” He had hundreds of people by then, and 17 million people across the world weren’t buying products from Delano Grape Co., as he had requested. The UFW used a aztec eagle as the symbol for their movement. They used this because the aztec eagle as a symbol because he says "It gives pride…When people see it, they know it means dignity." Every movement need a slogan theirs was "Viva la causa!" – "Long live the cause!" The Boycott lasted from 1965- 1970 before companies started negotiating with the workers and giving them the rights Cesar wanted for them. About 10,000 people returned to work after the contracts were signed. Even though the companies didn’t have much say in the matter they were resistant for 5 years. They lost millions of dollars in the company because of the farm workers and resisted them for it. Before the contracts were even a thought, in 1966 Cesar organized a walk of protest from Delano to Sacramento which is a 300 mile walk. Hundreds

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