grape strike artifact analysis

                                                      

                                    Protestors from the UFW march 300 miles from Delano to Sacramento

            On September 8^th of 1965 the AWOK, a largely Filipino farm workers group, walked out of their grape fields in Delano, California in protest of years or low wages and poor working conditions. That first walk out was the beginning of the Delano Grape Strike. Eight days later, Cesar Chavez the leader of the then NFW would join the strike as well. The grape strike lasted for five years.

            The grape strike was set in motion in order to make people outside the agriculture industry aware of the poor conditions the workers have to go through. In 1966, Chavez along with his supporters and leaders of the AWOK began a 300-mile march to Sacramento from Delano which would be the first protest I analyze. Chavez wanted to publicize the plight nationwide and he wanted to bring widespread attention to the farmers’ cause. Improved working conditions, better pay and the ability to unionize was what the farm workers were after. Shortly after the march took place, the AWOK and the NFW joined forces and became known as the UFW.

            Chavez and his supporters took part in nonviolent protests because he felt that those were the ones that could have the longest lasting results. Chavez was following in the footsteps of his idols Mahatma Gandi and Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.

            Another form of protest that Chavez became known for was fasting. Chavez fasted on three separate occasions in protests. The first time Chavez fasted was in 1968 when he went on a 25 day, water only fast to show support and to stand in solidarity with farm working families affected by previous years of poor treatment. When it came to fasting Chavez thought about it more as a purification ritual. Chavez once said “a fast for me is personal, it is a fast for the purification of my own soul, mind and body” (Alarcon). Chavez would take on another fast in 1972 which lasted 24 days in protests of similar issues affecting farm workers and their families.

            Chavez would fast for the last time in 1988 while protesting the use of pesticides on table grapes. Chavez gave a speech in Tacoma, Washington warning people and farm workers about the effects pesticides can have on an individual (pacific Lutheran). Even at an advanced age, Chavez continued to show support for farm workers and anyone affected within the industry, and at 67 years old Chavez still fasted for those he fought for.

                                                            WORKS CITED

UFW.org. “United Farm Workers of America”. “Story of Cesar Chavez”. National headquarters Keene, California. Press inquires Bakersfield, California.

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

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