Commemorative Period 

 

A Tribute to Cesar & Dolores

Our Story

The César Chávez & Dolores Huerta Commemorative is a citywide effort to honor César Chávez and Dolores Huerta by emphasizing Service Learning and Environmental Justice. The commemorative period begins on the Spring Equinox (March 20th), the traditional beginning of the planting season, and extends through March 31st, César’s birthday, and then on to April 10th, Dolores Huerta’s birthday.

About Cesar

César Chávez was a Mexican-American labor leader who used non-violent methods to fght for the rights of migrant farm workers in the southwestern USA. Migrant farm workers are people who do farm labor, moving from farm to farm and from town to town as their work is needed – it is diffcult work that pays very little and can be dangerous due to the use of pesticides (pesticides are chemicals that kill bugs and can make people sick). Chávez founded a group that advocates for the rights of farm workers, demanding to increase wages and improve the working conditions and safety of farm workers. He also organized strikes (when workers refuse to work until improved working conditions and salary demands are met)and nationwide boycotts of agricultural products in order to help workers (a boycott is a protest in which the public is asked not to buy certain 

About Dolores

Dolores Huerta worked as a labor leader & environmentalist for 30 years. She was born on April 10, 1930, in Dawson, New Mexico. She became an elementary school teacher but left the profession after she saw that her students were living in poverty without enough food to eat. She has dedicated her life to the struggle for justice, dignity, and a decent standard of living for one of the most exploited groups in the United States – the men, women, and children who toil in the fields and orchards picking the vegetables and fruits that stock grocery stores. Huerta and Chávez motivated the workers to fight for their rights and, in the process, changed history. In the union and elsewhere, Huerta had to battle both gender and ethnic stereotypes. But she was able to hold her own against angry Anglo growers who resented the fact that any Mexican American, and a woman no less, would dare challenge them. Chávez described Dolores as “fearless, both mentally and physically.” Huerta met feminist Gloria Steinem, who made her aware of the emerging women’s movement. She then began to add a feminist point of view to her human rights philosophy, and became a voice for the inclusion of women in positions of leadership.

Resources

Teacher Resources

Please visit our teacher resource page to access age-appropriate César Chávez biographies, model curricula, and more.