On Monday, March 31, 2025, will be celebrating César Chávez’s Day. César Chávez was born just outside of Yuma, Arizona in a small adobe home on March 31, 1927, and would have been 98 years old this year. His family moved to California when he was 11, after being forced off the family homestead during the Great Depression.
He was a migrant farm worker from the age of 10 and became active with the Community Service Organization, which helped fight racial and economic discrimination against Chicano residents. Alongside César Chávez, Filipino farm workers, led by Larry Itliong, played an important leadership role in the movement. Together they ultimately improved working conditions for all farm workers.
César Chávez co-founded the National Farm Workers Association in the early 1960s. He focused attention on the plight of migrant farm workers and gained support to have his organization be the first successful farm workers’ union in the United States. He used principles of non-violence, with strikes and boycotts. César Chávez remained president of United Farm Workers of America (AFL-CIO) until his death on April 23, 1993.