Cesar Chavez

hard worker

The life of Cesar Estrada Chavez starts in Yuma, Arizona. Cesar was born on March 31, 1927. He was the second of five children. Cesar was brought up by his parents to be very respectful but it was hard to be respectful at times with all the racism and hate that Cesar went through growing up. Growing up Cesar lived in an small adobe home in Arizona but in 1938 he and his family moved to California. The family only stayed in California for a short period of time. They moved back to Arizona but returned to California in June 1939.

Cesar and his family lived in San Jose for a long period of time after moving back from Arizona. Cesar and his family worked in many fields of California from Brawley to Oxnard, Atascadero, Gonzales,King City, Salinas, McFarland, Delano, Wasco, Selma, Kingsburg, and Mendota. As a kid Cesar did not really like school because of the fact that he only spoke Spanish at home. The teachers would only speak English and Spanish was forbidden at school. During his childhood years Cesar only made it to the eighth grade. He graduated in 1942.

In 1946 he enrolled himself in the navy where he served for two years in the Pacific. Seventeen year old Cesar Chavez was now in what he would later call “the two worst years of my life.” When his time in the navy was done with, he returned to Delano and got married with his high school sweetheart Helen Favela. Their relationship was stronger then ever. Helen provided him with comfort and support which helped Cesar with going on in the rights he believed in for his people. Cesar and his wife Helen moved to San Jose, California where their first child Fernando was born. Time passes and he and his wife had a bigger family than they expected. It was now Fernando, Linda, Paul, Eloise, Sylvia and Anthony Chavez.

Giving a speech

Cesar was later on defending his people and their rights. He led the grape boycott and helped fight for what he thought was right. Too many people in this country who did not have anybody to believe in or to trust, Cesar was the man who they looked up to when it came to hope and change. Hundreds of students, religious workers, and labor workers talked to buyers in front of markets asking them to do a simple thing: "To Help the farmworkers by not buying grapes.” Over 13 million Americans supported the Delano grape boycott and helped support the migrant workers who wouldn't stop believing.

It's sad to say that a great man in the lives of many of his people had come to an end. Cesar Estrada Chavez died on April 23, 1993. Even though he's gone many people still have amounts of respect for him and for what he did in this country for all the people whose voices were nothing but a silent whisper. He is still remembered and honored for his braveness and courage. President Bill Clinton awarded Chavez a posthumous Medal of Freedom. In conclusion, Cesar Chavez is my hero because he was a great man with words of wisdom and honesty.