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September 30, 2008
Granddaughter tells of Chavez
Efforts to unite farmworkers heard at IPFW
Kelly Soderlund, The Journal Gazette
Cesar Chavez told his granddaughter that their family doesn’t have
family picnics, they have family pickets.
It was important to the founder of the National Farm Workers
Association, now called United Farm Workers of America, that his entire
family be involved in the protests meant to defend the rights of migrant
farmworkers.
The picket line is where Chavez’s granddaughter, Christine Chavez, was
arrested at the age of 4 when her family refused to leave the front of a
Chicago supermarket that sold grapes the UFW was boycotting.
Christine Chavez was filled with anecdotes about her activist
grandfather as she spoke to more than 30 people Monday at the Latino
Cultural Expressions event at Indiana University-Purdue University Fort
Wayne.
She worked for the UFW as its political director, raising awareness of
civil rights and immigrant issues, and, with the Rev. Al Sharpton,
formed the Latino and African American Leadership Alliance to combat
tensions between the two communities.
“Christina’s work is based on the values passed down to her from her
grandfather,” said Max Montesino, IPFW professor and a member of the
Hispanic Leadership Coalition of Northeast Indiana, who introduced
Chavez.
Cesar Chavez was born near Yuma, Ariz., in 1927, and because of a bad
business deal, his family lost its land, Christine Chavez said. So they
become migrant farm– workers in California, following the crops, which
in turn forced Cesar to attend 25 different schools before dropping out
in eighth grade to help his family, she said.
Cesar Chavez knew about the mistreatment of farm– workers – no bathrooms
or water in the fields – so when he was asked to become a community
activist – partly because of his outspokenness and big mouth – he
agreed, Christine Chavez said.
After forming the union for farmworkers, Cesar Chavez led grape and
lettuce boycotts and took the fight from small-farm towns to big cities.
“(He) really showed the American people what it takes to put food on
their tables,” she said.
Christine Chavez endorsed Sen. Barack Obama for president and said the
Democrats have done a better job of talking about issues Hispanics care
about: mainly health care and education. She feels the next president
needs to do better on immigration than the current administration, which
proposed a controversial immigration bill last year.
She believes that Obama’s grass-roots efforts of knocking on doors and
inspiring those who have never been involved in politics to help on the
campaign and register to vote will prove successful. Many have mocked
Obama’s community-organizer roots, but Chavez feels it’s that mentality
that will prevail.
“A community organizer knows what the pulse of the community is,” Chavez
said.
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