Cesar Chavez was born in 1927, near Yuma, Arizona where his parents owned a farm and a general store and his father worked as the local postmaster. When Cesar was eleven his family lost their home and business to the depredations of the Depression and the Dust Bowl droughts. They joined the ranks of migrant workers headed for California. During his childhood, he attended nearly 30 schools and worked part-time in the fields after school, but still managed to finish eighth grade. After a stint in the Navy, he returned to farmwork and married Helen Fabela in 1948. Together they began to teach farm workers to read and write so they could become United States Citizens and have more power to improve their working conditions. In 1962, he formed the National Farm Workers Union, later known as the United Farm Workers of America. He lead strikes, made speeches, and appealed for boycotts of various products with much success, one of the most well-known being a grape boycott. Chavez fought for migrant workers' rights until his death in 1993. His children continue to lead his cause and his name provides a symbol of the power of organized labor.
During the 1950s and 60s labor unions were often subject to allegations
that their organization members and leaders were either Communists or Communist sympathizers. These allegations
lead to investigations by the FBI. In 1965 the above-referenced
allegations were
leveled against The United Farm Workers Union and Chavez personally thus launching investigations by the FBI. These files contain
over 2,000 pages of information on the Union, Chavez, and the various actions
Chavez organized as their leader.
(Image: Young Mexican women bundle broccoli in
a field in California.)