Cesar Chavez March, Saturday, March 26, 2011
Join us as we march from the Westside to the Alamo
A community program starts at 8:00 a.m., Stage Corner of Guadalupe and South Brazos – Grand Marshal Raulito Navaria, Tejano Music Legend-Singer/ Composer and Special Guest of Honor Dolores Huerta, Co-Founder of the United Farm Workers of America, March will take off to the Alamo at 10:a.m.
My date with destiny began when I was born in 1946 in San Antonio, Texas. I was reared , by, my Mexican migrant worker grandparents, Mauricio and Telesfora Martinez who were born in 1880, and were were members of La Sociedad Mutualista Mexicana, in the Westside barrio, known as "La Tripa" a spanish speaking community. The oldest born of my grandparents was Bernabe Martinez who was a member of the CIO ( Congress of Industrial Organization ) an International union who was involved in the pecan sheller strike,with my friend Emma Tenayuca, he was a leader of el comite # 5. My grandparents suffered a great blow when he was mysteriously murdered and his body was thrown on the corner of South Laredo and San Jacinto. My grandmother told me this story and showed me a picture of him wearing an arm band (comite #5), he was pictured with a group of workers. Witneses told my granparents that an officer of the law and an owner of a company took him in a truck, No one was ever charge in this great injustice that happened in our barrio.
When I joined the union in 1966 , my involvement in activism began as a member of IUE-AFL-CIO, Local 780, Friedrich workers. that is when I began my involvement with the farm worker movement and joined the grape boycott. I met Cesar E. Chavez right after the assassination of Robert F. Kennedyand this encounter became a life time frienship in La Causa por la justicia for the forgotten people, the farm workers as Cesar used to say. In our time, heros are not as easy to find as they once were. Although have changed, the depiction of how a leader is characterized has not. Any person who displays courage, strength, and leadership should be describe as a hero. To me Cesar E. Chavez, and Dolores Huerta, Co-Founder of the National Association of Farm Workers, which later became the UFW, are two great fearless leaders that have shown the values of service to others, and a strong determination and sacrifice to help the most needy, the farm workers. These two individuals were set apart at a very early age in our history fighting for justice in the fields.
Cesar Estrada Chavez founded and led along with Dolores Huerta the first successful farm workers’ union in the U.S. history. When he passed away on April 23, 1993, he was president of the United Farm Workers of America, AFL-CIO. I remember the day like it was today and will never forget when I recived a phone call that Cesar had passed away in his sleep outside of Tucson Az. He was attending a trial testifying in a 4 million dollar law suit the growers had filed against the UFW. I attended the funeral, 50,000 people from all walks of life attended the funeral in Delano Ca. the world stopped for a moment to pay tribute to our apostle of non-violence, Pope John Paul II , send condolences, Presidents and politicians send letters and movie stars came to our last march with Cesar at ( 40 acres) he was laid to rest in a simple white pine casket made by his brother , Richard Chavez who designed the farm worker flag, 40 acres was the headquarters of the UFW. 25 years earlier, Senator Robert F. Kennedy had broken bread, ( Holy Communion ) with Cesar Chavez at 40 acres, in Delano Ca. on March 10, 1968, during the Mass Cesar Chavez ended a 25 day fast. Cesar went without food to emphasize the spiritual and non-violent nature of the farm workers’ strike against California’s grape growers. Cesar was fighting spiritually as well as using non-violence to put an end to the exploitaion of the workers, upgrade working conditions, and reform the agricultural system in order to dignify farm work.
Against temendous odds Cesar continued to use his patience, skills and firm aggressive action to help the farm workers and their families.
He never forgot from where he came from, after achieving only an eight grade education, Cesar left school to work in the fields to support support his family. Although his formal education ended then, he possessed an insatiable intellectual curiosity and was self -taught in many fields and well read throughout his life. He encourage me to read books, of history, civil rights, Mahatma Ghandi, Dr. King and the struggles in human rights. One day I received a phone call from Cesar Chavez when Senator Ted Kennedy was running for President of the United States and was coming to San Antonio, Texas to campaign. He asked me if I wanted to meet the Senator, I told him that I did not have $1,000 dollars to pay for the event, He went quiet for a moment and then he replied, " I know you do not have $1,000 to attent the event, that is not what I asked you, listen to my question do you want to go ? I then replied yes! He then said meet me in the alley behind the Gunter Hotel where the workers come in to work, meet me at 6:00 p.m. I did and then 2 men dressed in black with ear phones came to the back door in the alley and said, Cesar Chavez, Cesar replied thats me. We then followed them to the top floor of the hotel wher the whole floor was full of men in black suits, one of the agents kocked at the door and another agent inside opened the door and there comes Senator Kennedy and he said in a loud voice " Cesar my friend" and hugged him, then Cesar interups him and said Senator" this is Jaime Martinez a labor leader and he is my friend."So we sat on a couched all three of us and they discussed business, that was one of the many encounters I had with Senator Kennedy.
The significance and impact of Cesar’s life transcends any one cause or struggle. He was a unique and humble leader, in addition to being a great humanitarium and communicator who influenced and inspired millions of Americans to seek social justice and civil rights for the poor and disenfranchised in our society. Cesar was a great strategist forged a diversed an extraordinary national coalition of students, middle class consumers, trade unionist, like myself, religious groups, and minorities, who joined La Causa and the boycotts. Senator Robert F. Kennedy once described Cesar as " One of the heroic figures of our time." The organizational skills of Cesar Chavez and the UFW made history when Cesar Chavez called for a worldwide grape boycott. By 1975, a Louis Harris poll showed 17 million people were honoring the grape boycott in America. It forced growers to support California Govenor Jerry Brown’s collective bargaining law for farm workers, the 1975 Agricultural Labor Relations Act. My union the IUE-AFL-CIO was very agreesive in the boucotts throughout the country and Cesar never forgot the solidarity support we gave the United Farm Workers of America.
During the struggle of the farm workers several were beaten and maced and 5 were killed in the fields . There were plots against Cesar’s life that were foiled. Some of Cesar’s documents have details of an assassination plot against him and it’s subsequent cover up by the government officials. This reached into the Nixon White House. I worked with him up untill his death and I can honestly say that he was unique and totally dedicated to a movement engaged in an important struggle for social change. Of the continuing struggle Cesar once said "I think we can develop economic power for the poor in a way that it has not been done before, and put this economic power into the hands of the people, than we can begin to change the system. Nothing short of radical change is going to have any impact on our lives or our problems, this is our struggle this is a life time job."
I recall, July 1979 Cesar came to San Antonio to a Westside rally that I was coordinating at the Mexican American Unity Council . I picked him up at the airport and I was asked to introduce him. I was an International Union Organizer for my union the IUE-AFL-CIO. He was on a mission and was traveling through Texas. At the rally he spoke about Rufino Contreras who was killed during the Red Coach Lettuce in Salinas Ca. Cesar was appealing for help and talked about the killing and the farm worker’s families tragedy and injustice the UFW faced in the fields. I felt Cesar’s heart was sad as he describe the plight of the fight in the fields, as he continued talking about Rufino Contreras and when he saw his 5 year old son consoling the mother at the casket. Cesar said that at that moment the little farm workerbecame a man. I took a leave of absence from my union the IUE-AFL-CIO and organized a group of my union brothers to serve as security. That was one of my greatest experience serving as security for Cesar. I supported him by joining the Fast for Life, and marching for Justice during the struggle of the farm workers along side Dolores Huerta, joined the lettuce , chiquita banana boycotts.
I saw a man who dedicated his life totally to the nonviolent teachings. He was a Chicano union man who was jealous of none, without egotism, who was selfless, who did not go under when people spoke ill fo him. He had no room for self indulgence and was a strict vegeterian who tried to convice me to become one…that’s another story.
It’s hard for me to believe that 15 years have passed since we first started the Cesar Chavez March for Justice in San Antonio, Texas. We are glad that the City of San Antonio has continued to be a Co-sponsor. It is also hard for me to believe that it has been 18 years since Cesar passed away. When I think about him and the many times he came to San Antonio and to our IUE-AFL-CIO Loacl 780, located at 1504 E. Commerce, now known as the Cesar E. Chavez Legacy and Educational Foundation, Service Center, a flood of memories rush into my head and heart.
Sometimes those of us who are community activist become frustrated because we think social change is not taking place fast enough. Sometimes we look around and don’t see as many people coming to the meetings or the march that we used to. I know that some of you have asked , " Jaime. why is it that other cities have streets named after Cesar and here in San Antonio we still have not been able to accomplished this goal ?" I rely, have faith in due time…Patience, " Hay mas tiempo que vida." We are here on earth for only a short period of time. The struggle for justice on the other hand will continue many years after each of us has passed on.
When I feel despair reaching out to touch me, I think of God and Cesar Chavez. I think of how frustrated he may have felt picketing the Delano grape grape growers in 1965 in the fog of the San Joaquin Valley and very few people paid any attention. I also think of those farm workers who went on strike in 1973 who were beaten, shot and jailed for daring to stand up to the police and the powerful growers, yet they still volunteered to go out on the boycott to tell the American people of their struggle in the fields. I remind myself that that while we may not see the fruits of our labor with respect to social change, what is most important is that we tried . And that is really all we can ask of ourselves – to try. Cesar Chavez and the farm workers movement will be with us in spirit as long as we are willing to continue the struggle. Sometimes that struggle will be with a lot of people and sometimes it will be with just a handful, but lest we forget that Cesar and Dolores Huerta showed us that the success of any effort is not defined by those who have the most resources, money or do the most planning. Success can also come from perseverance,tenacity, and Ganas!
SI SE PUEDE !
Benito Juarez & Cinco de Mayo
Emiliano Zapata
