“There’s no turning back…We will win. We are winning because ours is a revolution of mind and heart…We draw our strength from the very despair in which we have been forced to live. We shall endure.” -- César Chávez (3/31/1927 - 4/23/1993), civil rights leader and founder of the National Farm Workers Association, and later the United Farm Workers union. Today, César Chávez Day is celebrated by proclamation of President Biden, who said he "defined extraordinary moral courage" in his fight for decent wages and living conditions for migrant workers. His images were recently used by election spoiler RFK, Jr., prompting Chávez's family to demand that he refrain from tying Chávez's image and legacy to his cynical campaign.
Chávez, along with fellow iconic civil rights leader Dolores Huerta, founded the United Farm Workers as a result of terrible working conditions and low wages for farm workers over many decades, using boycotts to secure the right of collective bargaining with the agriculture industry. His life work made the lives of countless farm workers and their families far better, and by doing so, made us a better nation.
(photo: César Chávez from NPR)
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