“IT WAS A GREAT PRIVILEGE TO HAVE BEEN ABLE TO PHOTOGRAPH STRONG MEN AND WOMEN STANDING. I’M PROUD TO HAVE STOOD WITH THEM.” – Jon Lewis 1938-2009
This exhibit is a public tribute for the work of Jon Lewis (1938-2009) and an acknowledgement of how much his artistry contributed to Cesar Chavez and his farmworker movement.
Without Hope or Expectation
Photographer Jon Lewis joined the farmworker movement to document the lives of striking farmworkers who sacrificed their livelihood in the hope their struggle for social justice would bring a better and more secure life for their children. But when he observed hopelessness, he did not turn away.
Rich Soil of California’s Central Valley
The story of Cesar Chavez and his farmworker movement is rooted in the soil of California’s Central Valley, one of the richest agricultural areas in the world. Twenty-five percent of all U.S. agricultural production – as measured in dollars – is produced in the Central Valley of California.
Farmworker Women Harvest Table Grapes In Delano
Women did much of the harvesting and packing of table grapes in California’s Central Valley. The scales will show a weight of approximately 26 pounds for a field-packed box of grapes. Paid piece rate – the faster you work, the more you earn – with no toilets, drinking water or rest breaks provided.
Two Young Boys Pack Table Grapes
Children worked in the fields with their farmworker parents to help support the family. Child labor in California during harvest time was the norm, not the exception.
Farmworkers Swamp Table Grapes
Swamping grape boxes from the fields: a farmworker standing on the ground tosses up the 26 pound box, the worker standing on the truck bed, catches the box and stacks it. (Q): How many boxes of table grapes are shipped from the Central Valley of California each harvest season? (A): Enough to build a wall 12 boxes high from Delano to Boston, approximately 3000 miles.
Farmworker Children Raised In Shacks
Migrant farmworkers were so impoverished, they had to live in farm labor camps – little more than a shack of four walls and a tin roof, one electrical outlet, no running water and common area toilets.
Cesar Chavez Organizes A Farmworker
Cesar Chavez founded his National Farm Workers Association (NFWA) in 1962. He was a masterful organizer – sincere, soft-spoken and charismatic. He was at his best when organizing one-on-one and in house meetings. He made a lasting impression on people.
Cesar Chavez Assists NFWA Member
The NFWA was built on service to its membership. Countless hours were spent with members helping them navigate social service and government agencies. Members were eligible to participate in the Farmworker Credit Union, the Funeral Burial Program, and in the dream of Cesar Chavez to create a union of farmworkers.
Huelga!! Strike!
September 8, 1965 – Delano Grape Strike Begins. The issue was union recognition and a signed contra ct to the insure farmworkers would be treated justly and with respect.
Delano Strikers Walk the Picket Line
Fighting for union rights involves great sacrifice – loss of job, wages and the threat of arrest. Convincing hired strikebreakers to honor your strike seems impossible, but it can be done.
Striking Grandparents
The Delano Strikers sacrificed much: loss of jobs, no money for food and necessities, many were arrested, but they persevered. They believed a union would bring respect, more opportunities and a better life for their children and grandchildren.
California Food Drives for Delano Strikers
Volunteers organized food caravans in major California cities. Oftentimes they would arrive in Delano late Friday afternoon to unload their donated goods at the strike commissary and then attend the weekly union meeting at Filipino Hall where they presented to Cesar Chavez the financial contributions they had collected.
Cesar Chavez Speaks With Senator Robert Kennedy
Cesar Chavez believed the politically powerful Kennedy family from Boston carried the torch of social justice for the poor. In the case of farmworkers, he was right. Senators Robert and Ted Kennedy were outspoken public advocates for the rights of farmworkers and they did much to focus national attention on their plight.
Cesar Chavez Explains Route for March to Sacramento
Cesar Chavez knew the Delano strike could not be won with picket lines because the growers imported thousands of strikebreakers from the Mexican border. Chavez had to conjure up a way to transform the cause of the farmworker movement into the national spotlight. His first step was to organize a 300-mile march from Delano to the State Capitol in Sacramento to meet with the governor.
Cesar Chavez Begins the March to Sacramento
On March 17, 1966 after a stand off with the Delano police who tried to prevent the start of the march, a confident Cesar Chavez and his right hand assistant, (Rev.) Jim Drake, lead the Delano strikers and volunteers out of Delano onto the highway en route to Sacramento.
March to Sacramento: A Farmworker Movement Pageant
“PEREGRINACION” – “PENITENCIA” – “REVOLUCION” were the themes of the March to Sacramento. The banner of the Virgin of Quadalupe, the flags of the United States and Mexico, the large wood cross adorned with rosary beads and huelga buttons, and the blazing red huelga flags with the aztec eagle all made perfect sense to the Delano Strikers. The march was conceived and executed as a public farmworker movement pageant.
Helen Chavez
Meet Helen Chavez, Cesar’s wife and steadfast partner in his quest for social justice for farmworkers. In order to be free to dedicate their lives to serve farmworkers, Cesar and Helen Chavez and their eight children lived in voluntary poverty.
El Teatro Campesino Performs During March To Sacramento
El Teatro Campesino, the brainchild of Luis Valdez and Agustin Lira, played a critical role in the March to Sacramento. At the evening rally after the day’s march, El Teatro sang farmworker movement songs and performed “actos” depicting the struggle of farmworkers with growers, labor contractors and the local police. The audience applauded enthusiastically and roared approval in support of the performance. Then Luis Valdez declaimed “Plan of Delano” – the revolutionary theme of the march – and introduced Cesar Chavez, the main event.
Each Day The March Grew Larger
As the March moved ever closer to Sacramento, more and more famworkers and their supporters joined in. What began in Delano with fewer than 75 marchers had now swelled to more than a thousand.
Marchers As Far As The Eye Can See
In the final days of the March to Sacramento, the crowd of marchers became so large parts of the highway had to be closed to accomodate them. Many thousands of people from throughout California wanted to be part of this historic event.
State Capitol – Easter Sunday 1966
More than 10,000 people had come to support the cause of the Delano Strikers and their farmworker movement. Governor Pat Brown was not present but on vacation in Palm Springs at the estate of Frank Sinatra. The governor was not re-elected.
Cesar Chavez at the State Capitol
The March to Sacramento was so successful, it launched the farmworker movement onto the national stage.
Cesar Chavez Leads Boycott March In San Francisco
Capitalizing on the success of the March to Sacramento – Schenley Industries, a major U.S. liquor company, had already agreed to negotiate a union contract with the NFWA – Cesar Chavez organized a march in San Francisco to announce the start of a national consumer boycott against the DiGiorgio Corporation.
Student Volunteers Arrive For Delano Summer Project
In 1964, the Civil Rights Movement had its Mississippi Summer Project, in 1966 the Farmworker Movement had its Delano Summer Project. College students were recruited from throughout the United States to help the farmworker movement.
Student Volunteers Bring New Energy
Injecting the energy and idealism of college students into the farmworker movement made a tremendous impact on the Delano Strikers. In turn, the sacrifice and commitment of the striking farmworkers made a lasting impression on the students. Most volunteers left at the end of the summer but others stayed on for many years. The successful farmworker grape boycott was built by thousands of dedicated and hardworking student volunteers.
Cesar Chavez and Larry Itliong Merge Their Unions
In August 1966, Bill Kircher, National Director of Organizing for the AFL-CIO, negotiated a merger between AWOC and the NFWA and would be named: United Farm Workers Organizing Committee AFL-CIO (UFWOC). Cesar Chavez was named president and Larry Itliong vice-president. Chavez and Itliong display the AFL-CIO charter which authorized their new union.
Preparing For Secret Ballot Elections At DiGiorgio Corporation
The boycott against DiGiorgio resulted in an agreement to hold secret ballot elections for the company’s farmworkers. These elections would be administered by the American Arbitration Association. The ballot would give workers one of three choices: “UFWOC” – “Teamsters” – “No Union”. Cesar Chavez, Fred Ross, Dolores Huerta and student volunteers examine the eligibility list of DiGiorgio workers who would be eligible to vote.
DiGiorgio Farmworker Casts His Ballot
An historic photo! For the first time in history, a California farmworker exercises his right to choose whether or not to be represented by a union and work under a union contract.
Cesar Chavez Announces Election Results
Cesar Chavez announced the results of the DiGiorgio election to the farmworkers and their supporters gathered at Filipino Hall in Delano who were hoping and praying for victory. UFWOC – 530; Teamsters – 331; No Union – 12. So much for the growers anti-union propaganda, “My workers do not want a union.”