50 years after grape boycott, César Chávez’s words still rally

April 4,2015

It’s been 50 years since farm labor leader César Chávez led a grape boycott to secure better wages and living conditions for agricultural workers.

That same year, the United Farm Workers was born, Chávez became a household name, and many of us stopped buying grapes. The grape growers acceded to the union’s demands five years later. It was a lesson in patience and nonviolence that Chávez came to excel at.

Joining forces with others and marching for the betterment of all was the example Chávez set for generations that have come after him.

It’s a lesson still worth learning, says Richard J. Gonzales, founder and original organizer of the annual César Chávez March and Rally. The 15th annual event will be Saturday in downtown Fort Worth.

“Chávez’s work of community organizing for social justice, civic involvement, nonviolent activism and love of the environment has inspired thousands in the area to follow his example,” Gonzales said by email.

Activists from the 1960s and 1970s remember meeting Chávez when he came to Fort Worth to garner support for La Causa, as it was called then, Gonzales recalled.

“They spoke of him as a humble, devout man who inspired them to keep fighting for the rights of the underrepresented, the poor, minorities, the land, animals, clean water and clean air.”

His motto, “Sí se puede” (“Yes we can”), has been repeated countless times and translated into English by U.S. politicians.

Unfortunately, many Latino youths today are unaware of the impact Chávez had on many Latinos of his time.

It may be the main reason the César Chávez Committee has organized or co-sponsored numerous community events over the years to raise awareness in Dallas-Fort Worth about Chávez’s “Sí se puede” legacy.

This year, the 2 p.m. march Saturday through downtown Fort Worth will be followed by a rally at Tarrant County College, Trinity River campus. Events also included a symposium on Chávez at Texas Christian University this past week.

A “César Chávez Legacy” photo display by photographer Jesús García will be on display at the Fort Worth Central Public Library Main Gallery, 500 W. Third St., until April 30.

José Angel Gutiérrez, who will speak at the rally Saturday, also believes Chávez’s work remains as relevant today as yesterday.

“Farmworkers are worse off now than when he had the UFW at 88,000 strong,” Gutiérrez said.

In fact, the struggle by farmworkers continues to this day. They are still fighting for fair wages and improved working and living conditions. Child labor is not uncommon in the nation’s farm fields.

And even though Chávez opposed the bracero program, which allowed Mexican immigrants to come into the U.S. for agricultural work, so did LULAC, the American GI Forum and other Latino groups.

Eventually, Gutiérrez said, Chávez “realized they were to be his future membership, as did most unions.”

Today, Chávez’s life can serve as an inspiration to even those outside agriculture.

Gonzales said he still gets inspired when he hears the chant “Sí se puede.”

“They’re my magic words to persevere and succeed,” he said. “They’re ennobling words for many.”

Mercedes Olivera