Happy Birthday Cesar Chavez

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“The flag of the United Farm Workers”

One of the highlights of my time on The Longest Walk was to be at the United Farm Workers Headquarters at La Paz, located in Keene, California. Keene is just East of Bakersfield in the mountains, right near Tahachapi pass on California Highway 58 East of Bakerfield. The leader and organizer of the United Farm Workers is Cesar Chavez.

Today, March 31st, happens to be Cesar Chavez’s birthday. he passed in 1993. Chavez was the leader of the United farm Workers and is considered a liberator of sorts to the Mexican American people who worked as fruit and vegetable pickers. He served many more than the Mexican Americans though. His mission was to help any worker, no matter what race, to better tgheir opportunities and reach a level of dignity acceptable to a human being. Fillipinos, Whites, Latinos from all of South America, Blacks and anyone who suffered was the focus of Chavez’s mission.

Cesar, along with Delores Huerta, ran the United Farm Workers and started the union after multiple attempts to join with other labor organizations to bring better working conditions and better wages and benefits to the membership. I had the extreme honor to meet Richard Chavez, Casar’s brother while I was at La Paz. I also met a grand son, and Dolores Huerta fed us and donated lodging in the form of a large meeting hall when we spent four days in Bakerfield. Ms. Huerta is still active and keeping the fires burning through the Dolores Huerta Foundation, who sponsored our stay.

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