Cesar Chavez

1927 – 1993

Cesar Estrada Chavez was an American labor unionist and civil rights activist who, with Dolores Huerta and Gilbert Padilla, co-founded the National Farm Workers Association in 1962, later the United Farm Workers. He led the 1965–70 Delano grape strike and accompanying national consumer boycott that won the first significant union contracts for migrant agricultural laborers in U.S. history. Throughout his career he insisted on nonviolence as a strategic and moral commitment, undertaking multiple prolonged fasts—including a 25-day fast in 1968—to keep his movement disciplined.

Last checked: May 10, 2026, 1:06 PM