Relatives of Cesar E. Chavez visit San Benito High School March
29
Libardo and Rachel Chavez visited San Benito High School March
29 to share with students about the legacy of Cesar E. Chavez, the
man who co-founded the United Farm Workers movement and whose
birthday is commemorated with a state holiday on March 31.
Libardo, Chavez’s younger brother and Libardo’s daughter,
Rachel, shared some memories of the man they knew personally as
well as information about his public work.
Relatives of Cesar E. Chavez visit San Benito High School March 29
Libardo and Rachel Chavez visited San Benito High School March 29 to share with students about the legacy of Cesar E. Chavez, the man who co-founded the United Farm Workers movement and whose birthday is commemorated with a state holiday on March 31.
Libardo, Chavez’s younger brother and Libardo’s daughter, Rachel, shared some memories of the man they knew personally as well as information about his public work.
SBHS Trustee Ray Rodriguez introduced Libardo to the students gathered in the auditorium.
“We all get caught up in the material world,” Rodriguez said. “…I’m lucky to have married into a great family. My wife is cousins with the Chavez’s and I learned to not only think of myself, but to think of others.”
Rodriguez described Chavez’s humble ways and asked the students to honor him on March 31.
“It took a family to allow him the freedom and the courage to stand up when he saw injustice happen,” Rodriguez said.
Chavez, born in 1927, grew up working in the fields. His father was a farm worker and the children followed in his footsteps. The work was hard, and Libardo recalled he was paid 75 cents an hour when he first started picking fruits and vegetables. There were no restrooms nearby and some workers went without water all day. Most worked from first light to sundown, and the kids worked before and after school in the fields.
Libardo stressed Chavez’s focus on education, something on which many of the programs carried on by the United Farm Workers Foundation focus.
“It’s about education,” he said. “Without education you won’t get to first base – especially now with everything computerized. He fought for education.”
He said the second thing his brother emphasized was volunteering.
“Volunteer to help others,” he said. “If you see someone drop a pencil, pick it up. When they say thank you, you will feel very grateful. You will be able to help.”
Chavez was one of the first people to broach the idea of unionizing for farm workers. Other industries already had unions, such as carpenters and teachers.
“If you belong to the union, you had rights to bargain for wages, for better living conditions,” Libardo said.
The fight was a long one that included strikes, boycotts of crops such as table grapes and a U.S. Senate hearing.
During the strikes, Libardo said his family and other family members supported Chavez and his wife. Donations, some from other unions such as the United Auto Workers, came in to cover the expenses of other striking farm workers.
“Now they have better living conditions,” Libardo said. “The kids don’t have to stay working in the fields. They can go to school. They can go to college. But always remember where you come from. Remember who you are. If you are lucky, come back and help.”
Through the years, Chavez stayed committed to nonviolent methods.
His niece, Rachel, said that he would fast, do meditation and pray.
“He read a lot to prepare,” she said. “He read the works of Mahatma Gandhi. He met with Martin Luther King and Robert Kennedy. He prepared with things that worked for other people. He had faith that people would do the right thing, even if he had to remind them.”
Rachel shared with the students that it was not until her uncle died that she realized that impact he had on people’s lives.
“Cesar Chavez was my uncle,” she said. “I just saw him as a regular guy. He liked to eat ice cream and told stories sometimes. I had an epiphany when he passed.”
Chavez died in April 1993, at 66 years old. When Rachel and her family traveled to Southern California for his funeral, she said she was shocked to see thousands of mourners gathered.
“He changed the lives of millions of people,” she said. “Not just farm workers who toil in the sun who get water now. But he brought out the pesticide issue. He brought out pride in Mexican Americans. He brought out pride for women and pride for those who work.”
For more information on Cesar E. Chavez or information on the work of his foundation, visit www.cesarechavezfoundation.org.
