* CESAR CHAVEZ *

César E. Chávez was born on his family's farm on March 31, 1937 in Yuma, Arizona. A second-generation American, he became a migrant worker at the age of 10 when his family lost their farm during the Great Depression. After the eighth-grade he left school to work in the fields full-time to support his family. In 1946 he joined the Navy, and upon his return he married Helen Fabela with whom he had eight children and 31 grandchildren.

A civil rights leader, humanitarian, environmentalist, farm worker, labor leader and community servant, César Estrada Chávez believed that people could bring about social change through non-violent actions. Millions of Americans, from students and the middle class to religious groups and minorities, have been inspired by Chávez's quest for social justice and civil rights for those who are less fortunate than others. Senator Robert F. Kennedy called him "one of the heroic figures of our time." Yet when I walked around the campus and asked some people if they knew who César Chávez was, most didn't and the ones that thought they knew said, "sure, the boxer, right?" Join me as I take you on the journey of his life and the legacy he left behind.

In 1952 he joined the Community Service Organization, a Latino civil rights group where he eventually became the national director, helped organize other chapters of the organization, campaigned against racial and economic discrimination, organized voter registration drives, helped Latinos become citizens, battled police brutality, and improved conditions in the barrios.

After 10 years of service at CSO, he left the organization to live his dream of creating an organization to protect and serve farm workers, whose struggles are a story he knew all too well. At a time when most farmers lived in poverty, lacked fair wages, medical benefits or pensions, and lived in very poor conditions, he organized the farmers by forming National Farm Workers Association, which later became the United Farm Workers of America. He was the first person in history to ever successfully do so.With his motto "Sí Se Puede" (it can be done) he motivated thousands of people to get involved and take action. Through strikes, boycotts, fasting and pilgrimages he was able to bring national attention to the anguish and struggles of farm workers. In 1968 and 1972 he fasted for 25 days to reinforce his commitment to the farm labor movement and at the age of 61 he fasted for 36 days to draw attention to the impact of the damaging effects of pesticides on farm workers and their children. In 1975, the California Agricultural Labor Relations Act was passed and remains the only law in history to protect farm workers and their right to unionize.