Civil Rights Movement
SPECIAL FEATURE
EVENTS IN THE LIFE OF CESAR CHAVEZMarch 31, 1927 - April 23, 1993
| 1927 | César Estrada Chávez is born on a small farm near Yuma, Arizona, March 31. |
| 1937 | Chávez's parents lose the farm and family business in the depression. The family joins the thousands of migrant farm workers toiling in the California fields. |
| 1942 | Chávez graduates from eighth grade. After attending more that schools, this is his last year of formal education. |
| Chávez enlists in the U.S. Navy, serves in the Pacific during World War II. | |
| 1948 | Chávez marries Helen Fabela. |
| 1952 | Chávez is recruited by Fred Ross to work for the Community Service Organization (CSO) on a voter registration drive. |
| Chávez organizes support from farm workers throughout California's San Joaquin Valley, forming the National Farm Worker's Association (NFWA). | |
| 1965 | NFWA rallies its' membership to strike against grape growers in Delano, California. Chávez's call for a boycott against Schenley Industries, a major grape producer, is endorsed by the AFL-CIO. |
| 1966 | Local officials are criticized by Senator Robert F. Kennedy after an investigation uncovers strike-breaking practices against farm workers. Chávez and 66 other NFWA members march 250 miles from Delano to Sacramento, California to promote the farm worker cause. NFWA reaches a settlement with Schenley and the boycott is called off. The contract is the first ever signed for farm workers in the United States. NFWA merges with the Agriculture Workers Organizing Committee (AWOC) to become the United Farm Workers Organizing Committee (UFWOC). |
| 1968 | Chávez fasts for 25 days to emphasize the non-violent nature of the continuing strike against the grape growers. |
| Under pressure from the national boycott, grape growers are forced to sign UFWOC contracts. The strike ends July 29, 1970. Chávez rallies the UFWOC to work against the Teamsters who are trying to organize lettuce workers in Salinas, California. The lettuce boycott begins. | |
| 1972 | The UFWOC is granted a national charter from the AFL-CIO. The official name of the organization is changed to the United Farm Workers of America (UFW). |
| 1973 | Refusing to limit picketing, Chávez and 3,500 members of the UFW are arrested and jailed. A new grape boycott begins against growers who refuse to renew contracts. |
| 1975 | Agricultural Labor Relations Act is signed by California Governor, Edmund G. "Jerry" Brown. This legislation guarantees farm workers in California the right to bargain collectively through their union. It is the first bill of rights enacted for farm workers in the United States. |
| 1977 | Chávez and the Teamsters agree that the UFW will represent all farm workers. |
| 1978 | Boycotts of lettuce and grapes end. |
| 1985 | Chávez leads a UFW march seeking increased wages and better working conditions. |
| 1987 | Chávez and consumer advocate Ralph Nader call for a nationwide boycott of grapes treated with pesticides listed as hazardous by the Environmental Protection Agency. |
| 1988 | A 36 day fast publicizes the UFW boycott of California grapes and the need for stronger protection against the use of pesticides. |
| 1990 | Actively continuing the protest against the use of pesticides on table grapes, Chávez is arrested picketing outside of a Los Angeles supermarket. |
| 1991 | Chávez completes a speaking tour of colleges to provide information about the UFW's boycott of California table grapes. |
| 1992 | Chávez becomes a visiting lecturer of Farm Labor History in California at the University of California, Santa Monica. He travels extensively to the far east (major buyers of California table grapes) to talked about the poor working conditions and effects of pesticides on farm workers. |
| 1993 | César Chávez dies on April 23, in San Luis, Arizona. |