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Born: March 31, 1927 Died: April 23, 1993 Social Change: Latino civil rights activists, farmer's rights
 * Cesar Chavez**

Growing up in various cities, I had a rough childhood that consisted of injustice, poverty, and racial discrimination. My family and I were poor migrant farm workers in California after my father cleared land for a house in Arizona and was denied the house even though the landowner agreed to give it to us. Attending segregated schools, I was punished for speaking Spanish in class and saw signs that read "whites only." I believed I was not fit for education and it was unnecessary for farming. Although I only made it through the eighth grade, I became passionate with learning later on and read lots of books. I was influenced by those who practiced non-violence such as Ghandi and Martin Luther King Jr who then became inspirations to me.

"Si, se puede," or yes, it can be done, is the slogan for the United Farm Workers. I founded the National Farm Workers Association, which would later merge with the Agricultural Workers Organizing Committee to form the UFW. I used non-violent tactics such as boycotting, picketing, and strikes to volley for better working conditions and higher pay for farmers. Another way I would abstain from violence was fasting and marching.

I went on water only fasts for periods of 24 to 36 days at a time. This was a personal choice, to purify my mind an body. I passed on one the fasts to Reverend Jesse Jackson, who then passed it on to other celebrities. This helped me to keep faith, boycott the grapes that were being sold for profit in California, and promote higher wages for Latino farm workers. I fasted for various other reasons, such as a response to legislation banning boycotts and strikes by farmers during harvest season. Along with fasting, I marched for the rights of my fellow Latino farmers. My labor union helped to pass the California Agricultural Labor Relations Act, which improved the rights of farmers.

Works Cited:

"Annals of American History." Annals of American History. N.p., n.d. Web. 9 Jan. 2011. .

"Cesar Chavez." Infoplease: Encyclopedia, Almanac, Atlas, Biographies, Dictionary, Thesaurus. Free online reference, research & homework help. â€” Infoplease.com. N.p., n.d. Web. 9 Jan. 2011. .

"UFW: The Official Web Page of the United Farm Workers of America." UFW: The Official Web Page of the United Farm Workers of America. N.p., n.d. Web. 9 Jan. 2011. .