| Arizona native Cesar Chavez: A great American story |
| Tom Cantlon Courier Columnist I just like the story of Cesar Chavez. What a great American story. Cesar was born in Arizona on a ranch his father owned. His father employed farm workers, and treated them well. Then they lost the ranch in the Great Depression and became farm workers themselves. He did a stint in the Navy, and then spent the rest of his life making great strides for the lowest paid of working people, and did it all in peaceful ways. That’s just a great, admirable life. His birthday was celebrated last week. He was born near Yuma on March 31, 1927. He came to know both sides of the labor issue because of that ranch his father had owned near Yuma when Cesar was young, often employing farm workers. His father was good to those workers, and it was his father who first got him involved in the farm worker struggle. By the time Cesar was 13 they had lost the ranch due to the Great Depression, become migrant workers themselves, and his father was organizing strikes. Cesar dropped out of school after eighth grade so he could work full time to help support the family. At 17 he joined the Navy for a two-year stint, then went back to work as a farm worker. Before long he became involved in organizing workers for better conditions. Cesar continued to push for farm workers’ rights for the rest of his life. Despite being harassed with audits of his United Farm Workers, nothing could ever be found against him because he relied on the people he was helping, wherever he went, to provide him room and board, so no one could accuse him of profiting from his cause. His methods were always peaceful, heavily influenced by Mahatma Gandhi and the "ahimsa" methods of promoting peaceful change. Living modestly and staying dedicated to his cause to the end, he accomplished a great deal for farm workers, and indirectly for workers in general. Mr. Chavez performed hunger strikes several times to draw attention to his cause, and they worked. His longest fast was 36 days. The fasts, and all his time working in the fields, eventually probably cost him his health. He can truly be said to have led an exemplary life, dedicated to helping others, and very effectively so. I don’t think there is another American in modern times whose entire life is such a model of personal sacrifice, character, and great accomplishment on behalf of those who needed it most. His life is something we all can honor because it is about ordinary people, working people, being able to improve their lives. Just as Europeans did as they went from feudalism to more rights and a free market. Just as this country did as we went from colonies to a free country. This is another chapter in that same book. A chapter centered on an Arizona native and on the agriculture of the Southwest. It is our story … something everyone in Arizona can cheer. Tom Cantlon is a longtime local resident, business owner and writer. Contact him at TomCantlon@TomCantlon.com. |
