I'll have a Caesar (Chavez) Salad

Eighty-one years ago Cesar Chavez was born near Yuma, Arizona and as a result civil rights in America for farm workers has benefitted dramatically.  Deemed as one of the most influential civil rights leaders in American history, Chavez co-founded what is now known as the United Farm Workers union.

Chavez spent nearly his entire life working as a farm worker or for farm workers.  As a child he spent much of his time working in the fields in order to survive the effects of the Great Depression.  As a result of the low pay and the poor working conditions, in the 1950's Chavez began organizing agricultural workers to protest, albeit peacefully, the poor conditions they had been subjected to.  This organization of farm workers became the National Farm Workers Association in 1962 which featured an Aztec eagle symbolizing pride and dignity.

One of Chavez's most famous actions involved a 36 day fast in which he, along with the other union members, were protesting the conditions farm workers and their families were subjected to which included the dangers of pesticides.  Said Chavez regarding the pesticide dangers, "The evil is far greater than even I had thought it to be, it threatens to choke out the life of our people and also the life system that supports us all."  These pesticides were a major source of illness among farmworkers.

Chavez and the United Farm Workers union created a sense of equality for farm workers as well as providing thousands with hope.  No longer was farming a dangerous job in which many were completely unorganized.  Laws were passed that granted rights for union elections and an environmentally conscious public agreed with the dangers that pesticides brought to the workers.

As I indulge upon a salad in the future, I will know that I am doing so due to the hard work of thousands of farm workers.  I will also know that the hard work of today's farm workers is made easier by the incredible progress Chavez and his followers achieved.  And as I look at the calendar on March 31st, I will recognize and appreciate a holiday for a deserving and honorable civil rights leader, Cesar Estrada Chavez.