Cesar Chavez was a man who risked his life to help others. He was born on March 31, 1927 in Yuma, Arizona. He grew up in a poor neighborhood. His family had very little money and not a lot of food. Cesar did not have a very good early life with not a lot of food and money, but he made the best of it. At a young age, Cesar worked with his family on their family farm. When he was a young adult, he joined the United States Navy. When he was finished serving in the Navy, he came home and married Helen Chavez. Cesar Chavez was a very caring person. Not only did he care about people, he cared about animals too. He became a vegan at a young age because he cared a lot of the lives of animals. He loved to help many people too, even if it meant that he would be disliked by other people. He joined the Community Service Organization and he later founded the United Farm Workers Association in 1962. He wanted to make changes without violence so he led many marches and hunger strikes to protest and boycott the Delano Grape Workers. He and the farmers thought that they weren't getting paid enough money. He also protested Mexican Americans' rights and salaries. His most famous march was from Delano, California to Sacramento, California. It was many miles of walking, but it was for a good cause. Many Mexican Americans and Grape Workers gathered with Cesar Chavez, and supported him during the march. The march was symbolized by the word "huelga" which means to go on strike. To show that the boycotters meant business, there were many signs held up that said Huelga. After many days a starvation and a hurt leg, Chavez and his followers won the boycott. Many people didn't think that the Grape Workers and Chavez would win the boycott. Cesar Chavez believed that he could do it, and he did. Later in his life, Cesar made another protest because he thought that pesticide chemicals are bad for the farmers' plants and crops. All of Chavez's marches led to national attention. Chavez gained support from people like Jesse Jackson and Robert Kennedy. Chavez got to meet both of them, and they told him that he influenced them. His marches became very popular and they started to influence more and more people each time. Cesar Chavez later died in Arizona on April 23, 1993. In his memory, March 31 is now celebrated as Cesar Chavez day. We celebrate all that she did and sacrificed to help others. He will always be remembered as a leader and a hero.
How He Showed Moral Courage
Cesar Chavez had many great values and core values that motivated him to do what he did that helped others. His family, friends, and his workers all motivated him because they were very important to him. He felt like his workers should have been getting paid more than they were being paid. They were getting paid at minimum wage. Cesar Chavez showed moral courage by leading many boycotts, marches, and hunger strikes. They were all for great causes like to protest something that he believed in, or to influence peoples' minds. He showed strength and bravery by wanting to lead strikes that could have put his life at risk. He could have gotten his job taken away, or he could have gone to jailMany people looked up to him for what he did to help others. He did not lead the strikes for himself. He took leadership and led the strikes for him and other people through the goodness of his heart. His death was caused by many of the hunger strikes that he led for protests. Cesar Chavez's moral courage had a very big impact on a lot of people. He won the protest when he marched 250 miles from Delano to Sacramento to get his workers paid more money than they were being paid before. He also influenced many people by being such a great leader and role model. He will always be known as them.
- Born on March 31, 1927 in Yuma, Arizona.
- 1946- Cesar Chavez joins the Navy for 2 years.
- 1948- Cesar Chavez marries Helen Favela.
- 1962- Cesar Chavez joins the National Farm Workers Association.
- 1966- Cesar Chavez leads his most famous march from Delano to Sacramento to protest the farmers' salaries.
- 1968- Cesar Chavez leads "La Causa", a national boycott that spread nation wide.
- 1968- Cesar Chavez goes on a 25 day hunger strike to protest non-violence.
- 1972- Cesar Chavez fasts 24 days.
- 1988- Cesar Chavez fasts for 36 days.
- Dies on April 23, 1992.
- 2000- California establishes a holiday on his birthday called Cesar Chavez Day.