Today is César Estrada Chávez day. He was a Mexican American farm worker who became a labor leader and civil rights activits. He helped found the National Farm Workers Association now known as the United Farm Workers. March 31 is his birthday. It is a state holiday in 8 states including California.My first memory of César Chávez was in 1966 when he led a strike of California grape pickers and the boycott of table grapes in support of the strike. This led to hearings by the Senate and the support by RFK for the striking workers. That was my first year in the US as an adult.
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And I remember when the grape boycott ended, and we were urged to buy lots of grapes to enforce the message that the boycott had been effective!
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