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Racism and discrimination in the us hispanic
mexican history essay
mexican history essay
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Banished from their farms and forced to work as farms hands, Mexicans had to fight for equal rights they knew they deserved. Prior to the Great Depression, many Mexicans, skilled in agriculture, owned large ranches that they controlled. When the depression struck America in the 1930s, many of these ranch owners lost their land. Forced to work to keep their family afloat, they had to become menial farm hands for a white farmer. While Asian workers used to be the primary ethnic group working in agriculture, the Mexicans now dominated the field. Throughout the years, activists created labor reforms however, advocates for fair labor continued to neglect the plight of farm workers. The main reason for the neglect was due to the ethnicity of the agricultural workers. Mexicans seen as second-class citizens faced constant discrimination. Racists called them “Dirty Mexicans” and often described them as lazy and stupid. They faced similar discrimination that the African Americans endured. Banned from certain places, Mexican children had to attend a separate school, usually a decrepit building. Various Mexican men worked together to try to fight the discrimination in their social world as well as in the work place. In the 1960s and 70s, César Chávez decided to fight to equal working conditions. His family used to own a large ranch but lost it during the Great Depression and they had to become migrant farm workers. Chávez understood the struggles of a farm worker, he lived that life, but now he planned to change life of farm workers. Chávez knew this would not be an easy fight and he needed solidarity for even a chance at success. Chávez embraced the Mexican culture when trying to encourage people to join the cause. Suffering from discrimina... ... middle of paper ... ...s, he knew that the best way to get the farm workers invested was to embrace the collective identity that the Mexicans cherished. He first made a flag to symbolize his cause. He then used religion to encourage more people to join. However, the main reason Mexicans joined his cause was because they trusted him; he was one of them. He spoke Spanish, was uneducated and most importantly, he was a farm worker just like them. Chávez used these to encourage people to join his cause and consequently he succeeded. Growers signed contracts with farm workers for fair wages and working conditions. César Chávez devoted his life to improving the lives to countless Mexicans Americans. He did not give up until all Mexicans Americans received the same rights as white workers. People remember today Chávez today as the man who orchestrated the most successful farm workers revolution.
If Chavez would have stood for illegal immigration, I believe, he would have been twice as powerful. Thousands didn't join him in his cause because of his position on that. In spite of that, however, Chavez reached millions and changed the Mexican American society forever.
Cesar Chavez, a civil rights activist, was a major proponent of workers’ rights in Hispanic history. Cesar was born in 1927, in Yuma, Arizona, as a Mexican- American. He grew up in a large family of ranchers and grocery store owners. His family lived in a small adobe house, which was taken away during the Great Depression. In order to receive ownership of the house, his father had to clear eighty acres. Unfortunately, after his father cleared the land, the agreement was broken, and the family was unable to purchase the house. Since Cesar’s family was homeless, they had to become migrant farmers. In order to find work, they relocated to California.
After having read and watched the video about Cesar Chavez’s union, I gained an understanding about his long struggle to gain rights for field workers. But after having attended the event “What I learned about Cesar Chavez” I even gained a better understanding about how Cesar Chavez accomplished what he did. Throughout Grossman's lecture I was able to form several connections to what I learned from the book. Grossman spoke about Cesar Chavez’s determination and ability to inspire others. These characteristics inspired me to fight for what I believe in.
In 1938, the Chavez family lost their farm due to the Great Depression. They were forced to relocate to California and become migrant workers. Chavez was distressed by the poor treatment that migrant farmworkers endured on a daily basis. His powerful religious convictions, dedication to change, and a skill at non violent organizing cultivated the establishment of the United Farmworkers (UFW). It was also referred to as “La Causa” by supporters and eventually became a vital movement for self-determination in the lives of California's farmworkers. The astounding nationwide lettuce and grape boycotts along with public support revealed the atrocities of California agribusiness and resulted in the first union hiring halls and collective bargaining for migrant workers. The details of the childhood of Cesar Chavez and how they would later shape his actions are a vital aspect of this book and the establishment of the farm workers movement.
Since 1962, Chavez created and maintained a union for farm workers called the United Farm Workers of America. He went through many hard times and had to make very hard decisions but nothing stopped him from giving up on his dreams to help other people. In Document A, Dick Meister talks about how he saw the UFW through his point of view, a highly skeptical reporter from San Francisco. He says ...
Chavez and Hoffa were highly successful. The differences in their methods and approaches, should not lessen the incredible feats that they achieved for the workers that they worked with and for the workers of today. Their personalities and approaches are what led to them being two of the most remarkable union organizers and leaders of the
The best part to learn from in my opinion is the Epilogue where the Chavez speaks to the lives of undocumented immigrants inside the political and social environment that has recently "shadowed" to be stricter on illegal aliens. Chavez brought a clear unbiased look at the simple and often risky life of undocumented migrants, mainly in Southern California area. I also learned more about the term "migrant worker" I knew some things but as I was reading I got more out of the term like it has multiple meanings and interpretations in different places of the world. The general meaning is any person working outside of their home country (which is what I thought it to be.) Some countries have millions of illegal immigrants , most of them being workers. The word can also be used to label someone who drifts within their country just to follow work as well as seasonal work "Farmworkers in northern San Diego are generally employed as seasonal workers" (Chavez pg. 86) which is the common definition in the United States.
Even though, this is a fictional book, it tells a true story about the struggle of the farm worker to obtain a better life for themselves and their families. There are two main themes in this book, non-violence, and the fight for dignity. Cesar Chavez was a non-violent man who would do anything to not get in a fight while they where boycotting the growers. One, incident in the story was when a grower pulled out a gun, and he pointed it at the strikers, Chavez said, “He has a harder decision to make, we are just standing here in peace…” The picketer were beaten and put in jail before they would fight back and that is what why all farm workers look up to Cesar Chavez , along with his good friend Martin Luther King Jr. Non-Violence is the only way to solve anything. The growers in that time did not care about their workers, if people were striking, the growers would go to Mexico and bring in Braceros, mean that they would not have to sign the union contract and not take union workers, who were willing to work if the grower would sign the contract.
Chávez’s leadership was based on an unshakable commitment to nonviolence, personal sacrifice and a strict work ethic. He emphasized the necessity of adhering to nonviolence, even when faced with violence from employers and growers, because he knew if the strikers used violence to further their goals, the growers and police would not hesitate to respond with even greater vehemence. Despite his commitment to nonviolence, many of the movement’s ‘enemies’, so to speak, made efforts to paint the mo...
Ferris, Susan & Sandoval, Rircardo (1998). The Fight in the Fields: Cesar Chavez and the
Last but not least, Chavez uses an oxymoron in line 45. He says, “We advocate militant nonviolence as our means of achieving justice for our people, but we are not blind to the feelings of frustration, impatience and anger which seeth inside every worker.” In the sentence provided, he also uses a strong word choice and personification to give you a mental picture of the madness that laces every worker’s insides. Cesar Chavez once said, “In some cases nonviolence requires more militancy than violence.”
Through the years, individuals have shown that a single man can make a difference. Men who, when committed to a cause, will rise up with honor, integrity, and courage. Cesar Chavez was such a man. He represented the people and rose above his self concerns to meet the needs of the people. Cesar Chavez showed us that, “The highest form of freedom carries with it the greatest measure of discipline.” He lived by this standard and fought freedom with the highest form of dignity and character.
At this time San Jose did not have the large Mexican population it does now. Chavez hated school as a child, probably because he and the other kids were beat and punished by teachers in school for speaking Spanish. Out of the 37 schools that Chavez attended, many were segregated and he never saw how education had anything to do with the farm worker/migrant lifestyle of his people-this was why the Sal Si Puede mentality was so easy to trap people in his community. Once, in elementary school, he had to wear a dunce cap and a sign that said, “I am a clown. I speak Spanish”. It was not just the schools that were hard for Mexicans and other minorities. All around the surrounding communities, signs such as “No Mexicans or Dogs...
Latin@s both young and old worked for hours in the hot sun. Out in the fields they worked hard to earn a living, but they did not get paid what they deserved. They got paid very little by the farm laborers who profited a lot from their labor (source: University of Michigan). To fight against this unjust treatment, Chican@s went on strike and boycotted the California grapes. In document 1 it shows photographs of the United Farm Workers strike poster and the boycotts. Many people joined the strike and boycott to help support the cause and won. Both strategies showed to be very effective in getting the farm workers a fair pay and treatment (source: United Farm
One of the greatest civil rights activists of our time; one who believed the ways of Gandhi and Martin Luther King that “violence can only hurt us and our cause” (Cesar Chavez); a quiet, devoted, small catholic man who had nothing just like those he help fight for; “one of America's most influential labor leaders of the late twentieth century” (Griswold del Castillo); and one “who became the most important Mexican-American leader in the history of the United States” (Ender). Cesar Chavez; an American farm worker, who would soon become the labor leader that led to numerous improvements for union workers; it is recorded that Chavez was born near Yuma, Arizona on March 31, 1927 and died on April 23, 1993 in San Luis, Arizona. (Wikipedia) His life affected many others as his unselfish deeds changed the labor union force forever. This essay will discuss the reasons Cesar Chavez became involved in Union rights, the immediate impact he had, and also the legacy he left behind with his actions that influenced American society.