historical narrative | Teen Ink

historical narrative

February 3, 2014
By Anonymous

In 1962, Cesario Estrada Chavez brought his goal to life and began to accomplish it. He start it by starting the grape strike. Cesar was motivated by the people that work in the fields because they wouldn't give up. Cesar wanted to accomplish that the field workers would get an equal paycheck, bathroom breaks and fresh water to drink.

In September of 1965, I managed to make a grape strike. The Filipinos asked me to helped them get equal rights at the fields. The reason they asked me for help was because I was one who led a mostly Latino farm workers union the National Farmworker Association(NFWA). So they asked me to join their strike.They wanted to do something in order for the owners of the farms to take notice that they weren't getting equal amounts of paychecks, bathroom breaks,nor fresh water to drink. I managed to help them out with their strike. I wanted the Latinos and Filipinos to work together on this strike.The reason i wanted them to join together was so they could come up with great ideas on collaboration.

I led a 300 mile march for Delano to Sacramento.Strikers became in to boycotts including table grapes all of this eventually spread all across North America I wanted them to remain nonviolent. I knew that only weapon strikers had was to not give up no matter and how long it took. Some young males talked about violence and strike back to the growers for how had abused them. I didn't teach the strikers to lecture them or tell them what to do with the strike i just gave them examples of hope.
I went for 25 days without eating only drinking water. The reason for doing this was to show an act patience for those who thought violence was the right thing in order for them to win so I did this to show a way of taking responsibility as leader of my own movement. I knew I was putting my life in danger because of the act I took I lost 35 pounds in those 25 days. At the end of all this the violence stopped. I was too weak to speak at the mass in Delano. At the end someone read the statement I had to say.

The grape strike still continued so did the grape boycott. For 100 years before my farm workers tried to organize a union but it failed every strike was crushed every union was defeated. I knew that strikers couldn't win because it was just a field strike. Hundreds of grape strikers traveled across the U.S. and Canada telling stories about organizing mass supports for the big strike. Many people stopped eating grapes parents start to give children a simple powerful lesson in social justice. By 1970, the grape boycott was complete success. It took us the strikers all long time to complete this success. None of the strikers wanted to give up on this. My hopes is that people go on with my goal of having equal rights in the fields.



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