Cesar Chavez
and The
Chicano
Movement
1965-1975
Cesar Chavez
1927-1993
Born in Yuma, Arizona in 1927,
Cesar Chavez spent his
childhood as a migrant worker.
In the 1940s, he moved to San
Jose, California where he
married Helen Favila. Chavez
met Fred Ross of the
Community Service
Organization and became an
organizer for the CSO learning
grass roots organizing methods.
He became general director of the
national CSO, but in 1962 resigned
and moved to Delano, where he
organized the National Farm Workers
Association. Their most effective tactic
was the boycott. The NFWA urged
supporters not to buy products from
companies that did not sign a
contract with the union.
NFWAUFW
 In 1967,the UFW targeted
the Giumarra Vineyards
Corporation (the largest
producer of table grapes
in the US), boycotting all
table grapes. After five
years, they finally
obtained a contract with
the grape growers. The
Union turned its attention
to the lettuce growers of
the Salinas Valley.
End of the Bracero Program
 1964- The bracero program finally ends, in part
due to pressure form the NFWA and its supporters.
That same year, President Lyndon Johnson signs
the Civil Rights Act of 1964.
 The new law prohibits racial discrimination and
establishes affirmative action programs to
remove discrimination in advertising, recruitment,
hiring, job classification, promotion, wages and
condition of employment.
Timeline of Events
 1965- On September 8, Filipino farm workers from
the Agricultural Workers Organizing Committee
strike the Di Giorgio Corporation, a large grape
grower in the San Joaquin Valley of California,
demanding recognition of their organization and
higher wages. The following week, Chavez and
Huerta lead the NFWA in a vote to join the
Agricultural Workers organizing Committee strike.
La Causa
 1966- From March 17 to April 11, Cesar Chavez
and the National Farm Workers Association
march from Delano to the California capital in
Sacramento to publicize their strike. They arrive
on Easter Sunday. On August 22, the NFWA and
the Agricultural Workers Organizing Committee
unite to form the United Farm Workers Organizing
Committee (UFW). Shortly thereafter, the Di
Giorgio Corporation grants the UFW membership
a contract.
 1968-On February 15, Chavez
begins a twenty-five day fast at
Forty Acres, near Delano,
California. Shortly thereafter, he
appears in court to respond to
an injunction filed by the
Giumarra Corporation aimed at
prohibiting picketing by the
UFW. Chavez is too weak from
his hunger strike to testify, and
the incident gains national
attention and sympathy. On
March 10, he breaks his fast at a
Catholic mass in Delano’s public
park with 4,000 supporters at his
side, including Senator Robert
Kennedy.
 1970- The UFW wins a major victory when 40
growers in California’s Coachella Valley ask to
negotiate contracts with the union. Huerta leads
two months of negotiations that result in better
pay, a union hiring hall, creation of formal
grievance procedures, restrictions on the use of
pesticides, rehiring of strikers, and employer
contributions to a health fund.
 In another victory, grape growers in Delano sign
three-year contracts with the UFW. Meanwhile,
when Chavez refuses to call off a lettuce
boycott, he is jailed and then released, pending
an appeal to the California Supreme Court.
Embrace the Legacy
Cesar Chavez,1927-1993
Dolores Huerta
Born in New Mexico,
Dolores Huerta moved to
Northern California with her
family. But unlike most
other farm- worker leaders,
she did not labor in the
fields. In explaining why she
dedicated her life to
service, first in the CSO and
then in the farm workers
union, she stated:
 “My background is a little
different than most people. My
mother was a business woman
and she was born here…I was
always active in organizations. I
was…in Girl Scouts for ten
years. I was active in all the
Catholic groups. I started a
couple of teen-age centers. I
always liked to organize. Even
when I was really young…I
liked to join things” (Rosales
1996;133).
El Teatro Campesino
 The Teatro Campesino
and Luis Valdez’s
contribution to the
formation of a Chicano art
movement are legendary.
But in it’s early years
Valdez only wanted the
genre to serve the farmworker cause. In Chavez’s
own words:
“Well it helped with the workers…it was street theater. It was able to
deal with three important things. One was just deal with…like we’re
here to stay. You know, he came out singing “Viva la Huelga” and “No
nos moveran” and all that stuff, great! The other thing he was able to
ridicule growers which was great. Not attack them but ridicule, then
deal with the internal problems we had about the strike-breakers or
being afraid. Friday meetings would be jammed with people because
even though we were losing the strike…they’re still coming because
the teatro was here”- Cesar Chavez
Chicano! Part 4
The Farm Worker Labor
Movement
Struggle in the Cities
 The 1960 Census counted nearly 4 million
Mexican Americans with a per capita income of
$968, compared with $2,047 for white Americans.
 The median school grade for Latinos was 8.1
versus 12.0 for whites. In Texas alone, the median
grade level was 4.8.
 In San Antonio, Texas, only 1.4 percent of
Chicanos had a college degree. In this same
city, only 49.7% of the Mexican population lived
in homes with plumbing versus 94% for the whites.
City Riots
 Conditions in the cities
were so detrimental that
several of the minority
populations rebelled,
especially in the African
American neighborhoods.
 In 1965, the Watts Riots
occurred causing millions
of dollars of damage and
leaving 35 dead. Riots also
took place in Newark, NJ
and Detroit, Michigan.
Inner City Schools
 In Los Angeles,
segregation increased.
Mexicans made up
more than 80% of the
Boyle Heights-East Los
Angeles area. The
Eastside had
overcrowded
classrooms, a lack of
Mexican-American
teachers, and a high
dropout rate.
 In 1968, 91% of the students
enrolled in institutions of higher
learning were white, 6% were
African American, and just less
than 2% were Latinos.
Students Organize
 In 1967, students met at
Loyola University (Los
Angeles) and founded the
United Mexican American
Students (UMAS).
 In 1968, the Movimiento
Estudiantil Chicano de
Aztlan (MEChA) was
created to promote higher
education among
Chicanos by poet Alurista.
 Chicano students formed
the Mexican American
Youth Organization (MAYO)
in San Antonio, TX. One of its
leaders was Jose Angel
Gutierrez.
 In 1967, the Brown Berets
was formed in Los Angeles
to defend neighborhoods
against crime and police
brutality. It also promoted
cultural awareness and
pride.
MALDEF
 The Mexican American Legal
Defense Fund was formed in
San Antonio, Texas in 1968
with help from the Ford
Foundation to promote and
protect the civil rights of
Mexican Americans through
class action litigation,
community education, and
leadership training.
 Vilma Martinez, a lawyer
from Texas became its
general counsel from 1973 to
1982.
The East L.A. Walkouts
 In March of 1968, nearly
10,000 Chicano students
walked out of five Los
Angeles high schoolsLincoln, Roosevelt, Garfield,
Wilson, and Belmont.
 Prior to the walkout, the
school system had pushed
out more than 50% of the
Chicano students, through
either expulsion, transfers, or
simply lack of caring.
 In 1967, only 3% of the
teachers and 1.3% of the
administrators of these 5
schools had Spanish last
names.
 Sal Castro, a teacher at
Lincoln HS at the time,
became a leader figure for
these youngster, both high
school and some college
students, and was indicted
by a grand jury.
 One of the student leaders,
Moctezuma Esparza,
produced a film in 2006
memorializing the events.
Chicano! Intro
Chicano Movement
 Other Chicano high school students also walked
out in protest; Denver, San Antonio, Phoenix, and
Delano among others.
 The walkouts, which spread throughout the
Southwest, had a tremendous impact on the
participants; a majority remained activists and
went on to receive higher education (Acuna,
2008:260)
Brown Beret- Carlos Montes
 Carlos Montes, an original
member of the militant Brown
Berets, recalls why he became a
movement activist: ”I was buying
into this whole thing about the
American Dream. Get an
education. You can be
whatever you want just read all
these books and listen to your
teachers. Even though at the
back of my mind I was saying,
‘Something is going on here, you
know, the reality that I see here is
different from what you’re
saying’.
Crusade for Justice
 On March 20, 1968, students walked out of
classes at Denver’s West Side High School to
demand the resignation of a teacher who
reportedly said in class. “All Mexicans are stupid
because their parents were stupid and their
parents were stupid…if you eat Mexican food,
you’ll look like a Mexican.”
 The protest went on for three days and 25 people
were arrested, including poet and activist
Rodolfo “Corky” Gonzalez.
Rodolfo ”Corky” Gonzalez
 In 1969, he formed The Crusade
for Justice in Denver. The main
role of the Crusade for the
Chicano Movement was
establishing cultural nationalism
and a vague notion of
separatism.
 Gonzalez also wrote an epic
poem, “I am Joaquin” that
became the anthem for the
movimiento.
I Am Joaquin- by Luis Valdez
I Am Joaquin-”Corky”
Gonzalez
 Joaquin feels that he speaks for both for himself and for
an entire culture. With what aspects of Mexican
American history and experience does the speaker
identify himself?
 Joaquin embraces several seemingly contradictory
aspects of his heritage. For example he identifies with
both the Spanish and Indian peoples. What are some
other conflicting elements of his heritage, and how does
Joaquin reconcile them within himself?
 The presence of conflict is a central element in I Am
Joaquin. 1. With what is the speaker in conflict and why?
2. Where does he find refuge from strife?
Reies Lopez Tijerina
 In 1963, The Alianza Federal de
Mercededs is incorporated by
Reies Lopez Tijerina
 On October 15, 1966, Tijerina and
350 other supporters commandeer
the Camp Echo Amphitheater in
Kit Carson National Forest, in
northern New Mexico.
 When Park Rangers attempt to
intervene, Tijerina orders his men
to have them arrested for
trespassing.
The Alianza Federal
de Mercedes
On June 5, 1967 members of the
Alianza make an armed attack
on a courthouse in the village of
Tierra Amarilla to make a citizens
arrest of the District Attorney,
Alfonso Sanchez.
During the attack, a jailer and a
police officer are wounded.
Tijerina escapes when the
National Guard arrive but is later
captured and sentenced to two
years in prison.
Attack on Tierra Amarilla
Chicanos! Part 2
Chicano Moratorium
 1970- In July, a National Chicano Moratorium
Committee anti-Vietnam War march and rally in
Houston, Texas, draws 5,000 people.
 The following month, a second rally is held in East
Los Angeles’s Laguna Park, this time attracting
30,000.
 After some gatherers loot a local liquor store,
police attack the crowds with clubs and tear
gas.
Ruben Salazar
 Later that afternoon, a local
newspaper and TV reporter
was having a drink with two
of his co-workers from KMEXTV in a bar called The Silver
Dollar when Sheriff deputies
fire a tear gas canister into
the bar hitting him in the
head and killing him.
 Salazar had already been
warned by the LAPD about
his coverage of police
brutality cases.
“East LA Riot”
Death of Ruben Salazar by
Frank Romero
Chicano Moratorium-video
Crystal City, TX
 In 1969, Jose Angel Gutierrez and several young
volunteers begin to organize politically in their
hometown Crystal City, TX.
 Although Chicanos composed more than 85% of
population of 8,500, a white minority, who owned
95% of the land, controlled the city’s politics.
 The median years of education were 2.3 grades
for Chicanos. More than 70% of the Chicano
students dropped out and school authorities
strictly enforced a “no-Spanish rule”.
Crystal City High School
 In 1969, when two
cheerleader positions were
vacant, Chicano students
were told they could not fill
the vacancies since their
quota of one had been
met.
 The school board also
imposed a requirement that
any candidate for
cheerleader had to have at
least one parent who
graduated from the high
school.
La Raza Unida Party
 After several days of protest,
1,700 student walk out of
school and their parents
formed a citizen’s
organization and decided
that Mexicans would take
over the school board in the
spring election of 1970.
 In April, the group of parents
and students had created a
political party and took over
4 of the 7 seats in the School
Board. They also elected
Chicanos to City Councils in
the area and even mayors!
La Raza Unida Party
 In 1972, a new political party
holds its first national
convention in El Paso, TX.
 Delegates decide to promote
Chicano candidates for local
elections instead of supporting
major party candidates in
national elections. Jose Angel
Gutierrez is elected national
chairman.
Vietnam War ends- 1973
 A cease-fire agreement
that, in the words of Richard
Nixon, "brings peace with
honor in Vietnam and
Southeast Asia," is signed in
Paris by Henry Kissinger and
Le Duc Tho. The agreement
is to go into effect on
January 28.