Annotated bibliography

Bruns, Roger. “The Encyclopedia of Cesar Chavez: the farm workers’ fight for rights and justice”. Santa Barbara, California. Greenwood publishing. 2013. Ebook

This book shows an extensive look at the life of Chavez and also looks at the life of the United Farm Workers of America organization and how it began. Bruns, along with other contributors, take us through the life and times of Chavez and at the beginning of the book you learn that Chavez had a difficult time getting started with his organization and getting followers.

On page 268 the book talks about his early years in the organization and how it was hard for Chavez to understand why people join causes. In those early years he learned how to uplift his people and help them instead of using his people to better his personal life.

Chavez, Cesar. “Speech at Pacific Lutheran University in Tacoma, Washington in 1989”. United Farm Workers of America. Ufw.org. 1989. Speech.

More than 20 years after Chavez began his crusade for fair working conditions he continued to educate people on the evolving issues in the farm workers world. In 1989 a now elderly Chavez, warns the crowd at the Pacific Lutheran University in Tacoma about pesticides being used on grapes around the west coast but especially in California. He tells a story about a boy who died from cancer after being exposed to the chemicals and pesticides which were being used around him and his family in the McFarland area. In that area 13 boys were diagnosed with cancer during the 1980s, during a time when the towns population was only 6000 people. Chavez goes on to say that at the time there was no evidence to conclude that pesticides were the actual cause of cancer in these children however.

Araiza, Lauren. “To March for Others: The black freedom struggle and the United Farm Workers”. Philadelphia, Penn., University of Pennsylvania Press. 2014. Ebook

What Araiza writes about in chapter 2 of the book is about how different groups of the time came together to form stronger bonds and to gain more of a voice within society. NFWA worked with other organizations like SNCC because they shared similar conflicts and both groups understood the racial disparities they both shared. However, as the 60s began to move along groups like the SNCC began to see conflicts rise within their own group. SNCC were responsible for forming white allies and bringing middle class white young people to Mississippi to help register rural and inner city people to vote. Some within the group did not like the idea of white allies, they felt they could not totally relate to the struggle. Regardless, the SNCC California chapter remained focused on economic inequalities rather than racial inequalities like they were doing in the south. SNCC was crucial in helping NFWA in continuing their protests and doing them in a nonviolent manner.

Alarcon, Evelina. “Cesar Chavez: A legacy for peace, justice and non-violence”. New York, NY. Long View publishing. C2003. Peoplesworld.org. online publication.

I like this article because it gives you more of an insight as to how Cesar Chavez was and how he wanted to take on his causes and do so in a non violent manner. Chavez was famous for taking stands and being firm in his actions. Chavez once did a 25 day fast to send a message to farm workers who had mentioned the rise in violent assaults by farm owners. Chavez saw non violence as a winning strategy and said “violence just hurts those who are already hurt”. Here you see the impact other peaceful leaders of the world had on Chavez. He’s said he was inspired by the work of Ghandi and also really admired Dr. Martin Luther King. The two leaders never worked together but they both admired what each other was doing. King once said that their efforts were one and the same, and Dr. Kings wife, Coretta Scott King, visited Chavez while he was once jailed for violated a boycott injunction.

Hart, Treviño, Elva. “Barefoot Heart: Stories of a Migrant Child”. Tempe, Arizona. Bilingual Press. Hispanic research center. ASU. 1999.

One of my all time favorite autobiography’s has to be this deep, often hard to imagine, story of a young child traveling with her family as they made their yearly trip to pick fruits in Minnesota. Although the true story mentions making trips to the great Northern part of the country and not southern California, it still follows the same things Chavez mentioned in his speeches or writings. Elva Treviño Hart was a child when her whole family would make the trip each summer. They faced racism, poor living and working conditions along with other difficulties. I met the author in 2005 and she was one of the sweetest women I’ve met and conversed with.

Leonard, David J., Lugo, Carmen. “Latino History and Culture: an encyclopedia”. Armonk, NY. Sharpe reference, 2010.

Awaiting on request from library. Not an Ebook.

Levy, Jacqueline. Ross, Fred Jr. “Cesar Chavez: the autobiography of La Causa”. Minnesota. University of Minnesota press. 2007.

In 1965 Chavez had already established his life and family and they were all already experienced farm workers but Chavez knew things were not what they should be. The conditions were poor and the work was long and dangerous at times. Grape pickers were paid an average of 90 cents an hour but would work ridiculously long hours and lived in poor conditions.

United States National Park Service, Pacific West region issuing body. "Cesar Chavez Special resource study and Environmental assessment". San Francisco, California. 2012. 
What this resource really gives an insight to is the life of Chavez and his family. The early part of his life is something not too many people look into because the work he did through out his adult life is the most fascinating but his upbringing and family really molded Chavez into the tireless leader he would be known for. This resource is also a good resource for information ranging from ages of which he began working or began forming his NFWA organization.