2. Born & Raise Born On March 31,1927 Born In Yuma, Arizona Parents: Librado Chávez (father ) Juana Estrada Chávez (mother)
3. Early Life Chávez grew up in a small adobe home, the same home in which he was born. His family owned a grocery store and a ranch, but their land was lost during the Great Depression . Chávez experienced injustice early in life; his home was taken away after his father had agreed to clear eighty acres of land in exchange for the deed to the house, an agreement which was subsequently broken.
4. More Of Early Life His family then moved to California to become migrant farm workers. The Chávez family faced many hardships in California. The family would pick peas and lettuce in the winter, cherries and beans in the spring, corn and grapes in the summer, and cotton in the fall.
5. Struggles In Life These were difficult years, sleeping by the side of the road, moving from farm to farm, from harvest to harvest. Cesar would attend 38 different schools until he finally gave up after finishing the 8th grade School was also difficult because Cesar spoke only Spanish at home, and Spanish was forbidden in school. His father had been injured in a car accident, and Cesar did not want his mother to work. So Cesar left school and became a migrant farm worker to help support his family.
6. Accomplishments He was co-founder of the United Farm Workers Association in 1962 with Delores Huerta. First union contracts requiring rest periods, clean drinking water, hand washing stations and protective clothing against pesticide exposure. First health benefits for farm workers and families On August 8 1994, his family received Presidential Medal of Freedom from Bill Clinton. In 1992 Chávez was awarded the Pacem in Terris Award. Chavez High School in Houston is named in his honor, as is Cesar E. Chavez High School in Delano, California.
7. Charitable Contributions The mission of the Cesar E. Chavez Foundation, a (501(c)(3)) non-profit charitable organization, is to maximize human potential to improve communities by preserving, promoting and applying the legacy and universal values of civil rights leader Cesar E. Chavez.
8. Cesar Chavez Day Cesar Chávez's birthday, March 31, is celebrated in California as a state holiday, intended to promote service to the community in honor of Chávez's life and work. Many, but not all, state government offices, community colleges, and libraries are closed.
9. Legacy He is buried at the National Chavez Center, on the headquarters campus of the UFW, at 29700 Woodford-Tehachapi Road in the Keene community of unincorporated Kern County, California.
11. Cesar Chavez Famous Quotes We cannot seek achievement for ourselves and forget about progress and prosperity for our community... Our ambitions must be broad enough to include the aspirations and needs of others, for their sakes and for our own.” “Once social change begins, it cannot be reversed. You cannot uneducated the person who has learned to read. You cannot humiliate the person who feels pride. You cannot oppress the people who are not afraid anymore. We have seen the future, and the future is ours.”
12. Jail Time For Cesar Cesar Was In Jail For 20 Days For Not Calling Off the boycott of lettuce in 1970. His Jailing Created Enormous Media Attention, Reenergized The Workers, And Brought A Friendly And Well-Publicized Visit By Kennedy, The Widow Of Robert Kennedy.
13. Books About Cesar Chavez Harvesting Hope The Fight In The Fields The Words Of Cesar Chavez
