César Chavez
In 1962, César Chavez founded the National Farm
Workers Association, later to become the United Farm Workers
(UFW), which under Chavez's nonviolent leadership effectively
unionized the produce industry. In 1965, the UFW called
for a boycott of California table grapes, eventually winning
a major victory five years later when growers accepted union
contracts. During his lifelong tenure as UFW president,
Chavez went on three hunger strikes-the longest lasting
thirty-six days-and in 1966 marched 340 miles from Delano
to Sacramento, California, to focus attention on the farmworkers'
plight. When Chavez died in 1993, fifty thousand mourners
attended his funeral.
Resources for Teachers
and Students
Reflections
on Working Towards Peace
