As stated in the first entry, I have hundreds of stories to tell about history. I actually started last night's post after dinner and this one is being created over breakfast. By the way, these are good stories for history teachers to use!
I'm still trying to figure out how to use historic pictures without getting me or Blogger.com into trouble, so you may or may not see pictures on the blog. I know something about the Fair Use Doctrine. There are pictures avalible that are in the public domain and I will be using those or pictures I take myself. You want to make alot of money on my snapshot? Good Luck.
Cesar Chavez and Me
One thing I have learned about people living in Southern California is they have run in to some famous actor or politician at certain times in their lives. When I was a kid I ran into comedian, singer, and TV personality Jimmy Durante. I also met the superstar of the 1936 Berlin Olympics, Jesse Owens. What a privilege it was to meet the guy who ruined Hitler's day at the Olympic Stadium in Berlin!
In 1978 I participated in a “get out the vote” rally at Cal State Los Angeles. There were a number of speakers there that fall afternoon but the featured guest was labor and civil rights leader Cesar Chavez. He spoke and advocated for people to vote for better representation; there nothing earth shattering about his speech and it was not fiery. It was calm, assured, and persistent. Later that day the local news found a 5 second sound-bite and that was the amount of publicity the rally got.
After the rally I was invited into a classroom to meet Cesar Chavez with a small group of organizers. Mr. Chavez was preceded by three large and muscular body guards. Looking at those guys I thought first how I should move only very carefully because any of those guys could break me in half. But as Cesar walked in behind these men it struck me how small he was. He was a soft-spoken man – he thanked us for helping him hat day and encouraged us to keep fighting for the rights guaranteed us by the constitution. Why would anyone want to hurt this man? All he was doing was encouraging citizens to vote and to become more involved in their communities. I suppose that is too threatening for some people in this country. Cesar Chavez followed the examples of nonviolence set by Mohandas Gandhi and Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.
As the founder of the legendary United Farm Workers union (UFW) Chavez fought to gain a decent standard of living for poor agricultural workers everywhere. In 1969 he protested illegal immigration because farms were bringing in illegal aliens to break his strike. He supported immigration reforms.
Like Gandhi Chavez used fasting to further his cause. In 1968 he fasted for 25 days, in 1972 for 24 days, and in 1988 he fasted for 38 days. He fasted to remind people of the power of nonviolence, placing his body on the line to remind others of the moral strength of his position. But the toll on his body was tremendous, and in 1993 he passed away. His legacy continues. In 2003 Chavez was honored with a postage stamp and now California celebrates a Cesar Chavez day on March 31st, his birthday. He is considered by some to be the greatest civil rights leader in our nation after Martin Luther King, Jr.
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