Cesar Chavez

0:06 Hello, Hello, this is editing Christina. Just a warning that I accidentally like a newbe podcast or I accidentally selected my laptop mic for the entire recording of this episode, and so it sounds a little off. But sorry, I hope that doesn't take away from the episode anyway. Enjoy the episode. Thank you, Hi everyone. This is Carmen and Christina and this is Estodia's Unknown, a podcast where we talk about Latin American history. Sometimes it's horrible and deals with Tybee topics like racism, corruption, and genocide. But more than that, it's also about resistance, how we're in community and Carmen Today, it's a little bit of everything, as you like to say, Actually that's not what I like to say, No you'd like to say. I don't know.

0:54 It's a little bit of this and a little bit of that. Yeah, yeah, you're right, my bad. Yeah, today's topic. And also the next episode after this, this is a two parter, I'm going to be talking about Sis sat Chavis. But now you're an elementary school version, the hater edition. Yeah, you could say. And this isn't to cancel someone. This is just a show, not that I have the power of one to cancel anyone. Oh so I don't canceling is not really even a thing, right, No, it's not. Miss Dalisol is fully out there still doing her thing. So you know, like no one really gets canceled, no one.

1:37 I just like to ruin things for people. And two, this is just a show that no one is perfect at all, Like people are just human heroes, They're just human, you know. And also, one of the only Latin X related history we learn in school is Sa sat Chavis. And we learn this, you know, I don't know, glorified version, just like two, yeah, of everything else. So it's okay, it's okay to talk about the real things. It's okay to get a full picture, you know. Yeah, and to talk about the wrongs, not the rights of someone, right right, yeah.

2:20 And I mean it goes without saying. This is literally, like you said, one of the only things we learned about Latino history. And like us schools, without a doubt, you're going to hear so sat chavist and a lot. I mean, there's like at least fifty two schools named after him, thirty seven parts, forty seven libraries, and eighty two streets. Did you know that? Wait? Sorry, say that again. I heard eighty two something. Okay, there's at least but they two schools named after so sat Chavist thirty seven parts, fifty seven libraries and eighty two streets in the US. Wow, wow, wow, second only probably to Martin Luther King, especially after you know, white people in the Unied States decided to stop or to rename things the racist figures like uh Davis School or mir or John Muir Park, right, things like that, So schools after, says Chavist, those names are never going to change because, like you cannot deny he's an important person.

3:16 He did important things for the Latin American community in the US, Like there's no denying that. Yeah, but yeah, I just want to give the dark side the dark such as dark you know, that's what I want to do here, dark Sessa, if you will, like dark Biden or whatever. Do they say, I don't know what that is? Oh yeah, you know when he posted a memo of himself with like laser eye. Oh yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, that's what I want to do here. Will you post it like that also on Instagram? No, I can't, it's too much. Yeah yeah, yeah right, we're not that silly. No, we're not that silly. That's yeah, that's beyond I might. I mainly want to do this just because I think a lot of people don't know about the times between ce Sar Chavis and siting on. Oh neither. Oh do you know what? You know what Synanon is and you know I know I will for sure be explaining. Wow, I am already shook. But it's basically a cult and the predecessor to the Trouble Team industry. Yikes, big yikes. Yeah, there are ties. So that is all going to be impart too, because again you can't, I can't do just the bad. I have to talk about basically everything, right, and that's what part one it's going to be. We're just gonna do like a little history here I guess of Sasar Chavis. So now that I've done a little MENI intro, let's just get into it. Cesadio Estrada Chaves was born March thirty first, nineteen twenty seven. I didn't

4:49 even know that was I didn't know that was his given name. Look at you already learning new things in five minutes or less. Wow. Wow, And this is why I take part in this. Of course, this is why you're part of this podcast. Yes, yeah, because you Yeah, we're both just here learning, you know, right. Also March thirty first Wood becomes such chavistay and he was born in Yuma, Arizona. He was named after his abuelito, who migrated from Mexico to Texas in eighteen ninety eight. Cesario Senior was also known as Papa Chayo, and it said that he fled Mexico to avoid being forced into the Mexican Army, although it's not like confirmed either. They're fleeing either way, they're fleeing, like you know, for a better life.

5:40 So they lived in El Paso for some time before heading west to Arizona, and Papa Chaio started a successful wood haulleen business near Yuma, Arizona, and they bought a farm in the Sonorian Desert there in nineteen oh six. Sorry if you can hear my child screaming. He then brought Dorotea, his wife, and his eight kids over. The youngest of the eight kids was Librado Travis. This is Asa Travis's father, Librado. Librado married Juana in the early nineteen twenties. She was from Assension, Chihuahua, and migrated to the US as a baby in her with her mother like in her arms. That's how they went from Mexico.

6:24 A very difficult journey, you know, the one there were no boarders, Like, that's a difficultest journey no matter when. Yeah, they lived in Picacho, California, before moving to Yuma, Arizona, and that is where Juana and Librado met, and Juana worked as a farm laborer. Later she became an assistant to the chancellor of the University of Arizona, which seems like a pretty esteemed position to me. I don't know. Oh, okay. They got married at an age that was considered late thirty five and thirty seven. That's that is late, that's even late for now. And the status are like that's that's only considered average for like a big city here now, so exactly, so back then for two Mexicans. Wild and I'm really not sure why it took so long. Interesting, Yeah, I'm just saying thirty five, thirty seven. And before he passed away, Papa Chaio joked that Quana were married into the Travis family. Her sister was married to Sessad Chavis's brother.

7:30 Oh wow, and then her half sister was married to a nephew of Paba Chaios, so that's always weird that happened, so it does happen, and they wasted no time. Librado and Plana's first child was born in August nineteen twenty five. They named her Rita, two years to the date Sessad was born. That's the second child. And then there was a yeah, sorry not to the date a little earlier because his birthday's March. But yeah, I don't know. I said that. Yeah either way, very quick, like basically back after back pregnancies was one point of that that's also stayed in because I need to correct my misinformation. Live, yeah, Live.

8:22 The couple had bought a group of buildings near their home that included a pool hall, store and living quarters, but then they fell into debt because Librado has some gambling issues, so they had to sell these buildings. Sisa Chavez was born into the you know, regular extended Mexican family where it's multi generational and while they were not rich, they were okay, they were never they never went hungry and they're close fit and yeah that is like the standard, right close fit and you never go hungry. You're okay. Yeah, you're good, You're solid and exactly. It was a Spanish speaking household and Roman Catholic Papachio's wife, Tisata's grandma, was in charge of teaching the Catholic teaching the religion to the grand children basically, and his mom practiced a more like folk Catholicism type thing, which you think a lot of you know, Mexican moms do. She was very devoted to saints, but she also you know, believed in thekurandrismo and all that. She also taught her children the importance of helping others and the need for personal sacrifice, which would become like a core value to Sisset Travis. Every year on October sixteenth, on the day of Saint And I don't know how to say the saint's name. I didn't even look it up. It's E d U V I G E s is the Saint. Just move on

9:56 VI I G move on, okay, Saint. No, sorry, I don't know, I don't know. But anyway, yeah, seriously, so October sixteenth this the Saint's feast day, and she would send her kids to find homeless people to feed on that day, so very a very selfless person, says. Travis's nickname as a child was Mansi because he loved Mansania tea and it just ran that is so Mexican coded. No, I know. Our father called Carmen for like a while because he liked which is honestly delicious. I miss it.

10:41 I miss it so much, so good, it is delicious. If you have a chance to go get some about please do it. So yeah, that's just a very Mexican thing to do. Someone auf there something they like, So yeah, that was his nickname, Manti. He had two sisters, Rita and Vicki, and then two brothers, Richard and Librado Junior. He attended the Laguna Dama school, where Spanish speaking Spanish was forbidden, and he also had to change his name from Cesadio to Cessadi because it was in English Caesar. Yeah. And then when his grandmother passed away in nineteen thirty seven, the Yuma County government auctioned off her farm and her house to pay off some debt that was like some tax property that wasn't paid. And it did take a while because Librado Senior was trying his best to delay all this from happening until like it didn't happen right away, but in nineteen thirty nine they had the farm taken from them. And this was such a huge impact on young Cesadio's life and Caesar, I'm not going to call him Socatio anyway, on young sisuch I was his life because he felt that it was this huge injustice, and I mean it was, and I think anyone who goes through something like this, like when we were evicted, right, it feels like a huge wrong, right, And and there's also like a lot of shame associated with it, of course, a lot of feelings. Yeah, and he viewed the Anglo Americans as villains in this injustice to his family. It

12:13 wasn't even just like a poor or enriched problem. It was like a white versus Mexican problem too. It's how he viewed it. And yeah, it was just something that also formed just a very like formed his life. I guess it was like a life forming experience, is what I'm trying to say, right, Yeah, a formative experience. Oh my god, thank you. I could not remember those words. I remembered it ran before you were going to move on, But I was like, I know, this is hard for this. Yeah, of course, as I would expect nothing less, you know. So around this time he also started to view the poor as a source of moral goodness in society. What as moral? What moral goodness in society? Okay? Like rich people corrupt and poor people? Oh okay, okay, got it?

13:06 Got it? Yeah, I guess I could have worried that differently. And this is also when the Chavis family moved to California, I became farm workers. They started as a vocado pickers in ox Nerd, then picking peas and pescalerro later San Jose. A lot of moving, like we we've talked about in this episode when we talked about what was her name, Jesse. She was part of the now look it up Lopez. Oh my god, different as last nights old On. Oh my you were You're right, Jesse Lopez and La Cruz. Yeah. So, like when we talked about in her episode, a lot of moving because farm labors are chasing the job. With the seasons, it changes, so there's a lot of moving up and down wherever these farms are. And so since that moved, schools so many times it's hard to count by a certain age, like twentiesthing schools at least right, and he excelled in math, but then was average and other subjects. He also experienced boline from white kids. He already kind of viewed as like the devil. Yeah, but yeah, dude to being poor and Mexican. And also he faced segregation because you know, which we talked about in our last two episodes. We did, we did, as we said.

14:27 Mexicans were also segregated from pools, from eating locations, and schools. So he experienced that too. And then he after graduating middle school in nineteen forty two, he decided to leave school and then work as a farm labor to help the family because they needed it. Then in nineteen forty four, he joined the Navy. I didn't know he was a veteran. Yeah, a Navy veteran. He joined after his brother tried to join, but his brother lasted like six months because he punched an officer. The officer problemly deserved it. Those some people will say, oh, I was going to join the army, but I can't take like people yelling at me like I want to have like punched his brother actually did it right, right, Yeah, but since I was actually you know, he did okay in the Navy. He did as he was told, blah blah blah. He also later changed the dates that he was in the Army I was or navy.

15:24 I was confused because everything I read said nineteen forty four, and then I was reading this book called The Crusades of Saysar Travis, and that has the dates nineteen forty six to nineteen forty eight that he was in the Navy. It turns out he changed it so that it would look like he spent some time in war, and he didn't. He joined after and he just spent time like guarding, and then he just told people. He told people it was forty six, forty four to forty six, but it was actually nineteen forty six to nineteen forty eight. Interesting. Yeah, I was very I was confused about that, but yeah, that's what that's why he later changed the dates. So, yeah, after he got out of the Navy, he talked to his sister about becoming like a photographer or a cartoonist, or taking advantage of the educational opportunities awarded to veterans.

16:14 But then he couldn't because he hadn't even graduated high school and so there was no educational resources for him at that point because he needed to have a high school degree to use the GI bill, which had a different name back then. And so but now he was twenty one and he returned to Delano where his family was, and he returned to farm labor because he couldn't do anything else, basically, or he felt that he couldn't do anything else, and I mean, yeah, his options were pretty limited. He joined the National Farm Labor. So he joined the National Farm Labor in nineteen forty seven. This would be later involved in the first grape strikes against the did Georgio grapes. I was gonna say it wrung and so there was Okay, so there was multiple strikes against the Georgia.

17:03 The one we know that the United farm Workers would become well known for later has not happened. This is before that, okay. So these first grape strikes, strikers formed caravans and marched around the perimeter of the Georgio properties and then they would ask workers to join them, and Sesta Chavis led one of these caravans. And it was also around this time that Sisad reunited with Helen Fabella, who he had been with before leaving for the Navy. They were like high school sweethearts, and so they just came together again. During this time period, she quickly became pregnant out of wedlock. Oh no, which is a big deal, bapon. So they quickly got married in Reno, Nevada, and I'm not sure why because they were not in Nevada at the time anyway, And it was a double wedding rita, Sasa's sister was also getting married to her fiance, and so it was a double wedding. Fun. We had sounds fun.

18:00 And then later in nineteen forty nine, Sasa and Helen settled in San Jose, where she had a lot of excited family and I think he might have too. I'm not sure about that. Don't quote me on that one. So that's really went. Their first child was born in February nineteen forty nine. His name was Fernando. Then Sylvia in nineteen fifty, then Linda in nineteen fifty one. It's just a year after year, you know, back to back to back, back to back. Pregnant happens when there's no birth control or when they're a Catholic both. Yeah. Yeah. By nineteen fifty one, they were living in Crescent City, and Sisar Chavis was working in lumber and then they returned to San Jose where Sasa Chavis returned to farm labor briefly before becoming a lumber handler. And during this time in his life, Sasa Chavis was becoming friends with Fred Ross and father Donald McDonald, who were both white, but they were huge activists within the Mexican community. So Sisar Chavis helped Fred Ross establish the Community Service Organization in San Jose. And this was an organization that helped Mexican Americans learn English, file discrimination cases, register them to vote. Voting.

19:19 Canvassing was like one of the biggest things they tried to do crime. I like it. I like it, yeah, And this was his first huge foreign into community work basically, so they were going to establish that first San Jose branch and so eventually Sasa Javis was so hard working at this he ended up becoming the vice president of the San Jose Chapter. Wow. He then helped father McDonald build the Our Lady of Gualla Lupe Church, the first church in the sad Sepueist neighborhood of San Jose. Wait. I like that name. It's kind of like depressing to me, Like I'll get out of here if you can. That's what that translates too, Saladsey Wethers. Yeah, I guess you're right.

20:05 That's ominous. It is. It is a little scary. But I like the name Dalkmacy this yeah believe if you can so. Yeah, that's the name of the neighborhood they lived in, and he helped built the first church for salse Bhethers and father. A little bit on Father MacDonald just because he sounds pretty cool. He was a little considered a little unorthodox for a Catholic priest. He would carry a portable altar out onto the fields to hear a confession because farm workers couldn't leave the fields. I like that going to the people. Mm hmmm. He would also hold service on Sundays and in the evenings to accommodate farm workers, something that no one else was doing.

20:50 I like that too. Yeah, he was there for the people. And I mean, I think we know, but the Catholic Church does have some history of like citing with the race and wealthy, and so in some places not always you know, as we've also said. So in this case, father McDonald was frowned upon by his like corners cover ups for the kind of things he was doing. He even held he was the only one at the time holding mass in Spanish, which he learned as a child. Because he was talking. He made friends with the only Spanish speaking kid in his class and learned Spanish from that kid. Wow, actually, I love him right right. And for his help, Father McDonald then Sessa Chavis some books, and these books developed Sessa Chavis's love for reading. The books included biographies of Saint Francis of Asci for those who don't know, this was an Italian Catholic friar who founded the Order of the Franciscans. And he also like led a life of poverty, and he was a preacher who received Stickmata and son Angel. Okay, yeah, it seems a little efe to me. But he also read the biographies of John H. Lewis and Eugene V. Debs, both US labor organizers and like the East Coast sort of like for like my co workers, things like that. And

22:22 he also read the biography of Mahatma Gandhi. We know now is a little more problematic than we first learned about. Yeah, but you know, still regarded as one of the most prolific peaceful activists in the history of the world. Yeah, these are the kind of books that he borrowed from father McDonald and the kind of books that kind of shaped the activists as the SASA Chavis was becoming especially Gandhi around the time, says that was laid off from the Jedeneral Box Company where he was a lumber handler.

23:03 This was night we're in nineteen fifty three now, But Fred Ross was able to hire Sasad officially onto the CSO as an organizer. And it was a small, small wage, it wasn't a lot. So Sasa I traveled around California setting up other chapters of the Community Service Organization. And he basically just went up and down California to Salina, Spresno, Browni, Sam Bernardino, Madera, Bakersfield, just like literally up and down trying to set these chapters up. But the problem was that whenever they left, the chapters would fall apart. So then he wanted to go back to rebuild a lot of traveling, and like he was becoming known for his like quick last minute grand gestures to try and like fundraise money or like anything for like the cause. And this is literally what he would be known for as an activist like his later So, there was one time that they were trying to rebuild the CSO or something in Brawley, California, and they were in need of funds and in three days A. Sachavis organized a carnival to raise money. And he also was going to set up like a Christmas tree farm to sell trees. And he found a vendor. When this original tree supply was no longer available, he traveled hours away found new trees. When he didn't have a way to transport these trees back, he waited on the side of the road and convinced someone to help him move the trees, like he found

24:33 waited for someone with the truck and then just like convince them to travel back with these trees. That's amazing though, I mean, yeah, it's like you said. This is not to dismiss any of the work that he did, Like it takes a lot of skill and I don't know, like leadership and a real commitment to community to be able to do those things exactly. And he would do these things often having to to eat up the costs himself. Like with these trees, they weren't able to sell all of them. By the time he got back, it was like, so you know, this just it put him on the map as someone who went the extra extra extra mile from whatever he was doing. Now we're in early I'm skipping years and stuff, but just you know, want to get like a full picture. So now we're in early nineteen fifty seven and SISI Chavis was becoming disillusioned with the Cso his family had to upbrow everything and move with him. Every time he went and sat up a new chapter. That's a lot of movie. That's a lot yeah. Yeah.

25:34 And on top of that, he barely saw his family because of all the traveling. He wasn't even there when his sixth child was born. He was at the national CSO convention. Oh yeah. His brother had to drive Helen to the hospital, and Helen was holding down everything at home while he wasn't working. I feel for her. Yeah, that's rough. Since Chavis started to believe that the middle class members of the CEO CSO CSO we're pushing their priorities onto the organization, and then that was becoming inaccessible to lower income people. And then when the organization tried to hold their natural convention at this place called the SNA Hotel. He threw a fit, cemented his belief that the poor members could not attend this fancy hotel and the convention and like the prices, I mean yeah, yeah.

26:27 So people were starting to not agree with him for this, and this also put him on the FBI watch list. They opened the file on him because it was they were starting to see this with as like communist viewpoints. I was gonna say, well, anything that is anti capitalist is communists. When you start being concerned for the poor, exactly when you start caring about the poor, you start talking about wealth disparities, you know, that'll get you on the list. Yeah. So then he ended up moving to ox nerd because the United Packing Workers of America paid the CSO twenty thousand to open a branch there, so there was enough money for him to go be the organizer of all this set up this branch, mostly working with Mexican farm workers there, and you know, he was the first to really hear their concerns about them being fired or passed over for work for illegal workers or brasseros.

27:33 This is where the hate starts. Yes, So he established the CSO Employment Committee to keep track of the legal unemployed farm workers who wanted to work but could not because of the illegal workers, and the CSO committee started to criticize the director of the Ventuda County Farm Labor Organization because he was the they were the ones giving more jobs to brasseros than Americans, and this really kind of other the groups, the two groups, right, But at the end of the day, like to me, it's not the fault of the Braseros's the fault of the people hiring them for cheaper. They're being exploited. To be mad at the corporations and the people in power who are choosing to exploit others like labor, yeah, exactly, But they didn't view it this way. They started doing sit ins and things like that, and they eventually did get companies to replace brassetos with unemployed americ quote unquote Americans, but like really Mexican Americans, the legalized, like legal status Mexicans. Right. Yeah.

28:48 So the eventually the Employment Committee moved from the CSO to the Wow why don't it writing I wrote w P or up w A, but I don't know what it sotunds for no different organization. And then the Chavist family moved to La where he would become the director of the CSO. And it's a big position, So saysa Helen and their eight kids moved to Boyle Heights, a historic Mexican neighborhood. But then says I learned that this wasn't as good as it had seemed in the first place, because the CSO was in deep financial trouble, to the point where they might not even be able to pay his salary. Wow. But him being Sasa Javist pretty much saved the CSO. He was able to secure financing from wealthy donors, and he, I don't know, accomplished a bunch as the director in that time. I'm not going to get into everything, because again, we would be here all day.

29:48 Kind of already here all day. I'm just kidding. So he resigned as director in nineteen sixty two, and so the Chavist family left Boyle Heights, and I mean in bo Heights they were pretty good, middle class living basically, and they left all this to go to Delano, not to in English at Delano Deleno. Oh, thank you, I've been saying it wrong. I can't believe it took this long to correct. I meant to say something sooner than I forgot. But you know, it's just one of those things like I'm never gonna say Vallejo because I forget, so I will say I've been saying, Okay, wow, thanks a lot. I'm just kidding. You probably forget and start seeing Delano anyway. So yeah, they picked up and everything and moved to Delano. Before arriving there, they stopped at the beach for one day, and this was just such I was his first vacation like ever, so the first time you just spent the beach with his spent the beach with his kids. I mean that. That's rough. Yeah, and such a common thing to common. Yeah, Latin know that thing. Then a childhood thing sometimes poor poor kid, childhood, all of the above. When they got to Delano, they had no jobs and two hundred dollars in savings. Sasad

31:22 wanted to fulfill his lifelong dream of becoming, or not becoming, a forming a labor union for farm workers, though he had said the reason for moving there was to conduct a census to determine the needs for farm workers, but really it was to form or plan the union that would become the United farm Workers, which was first called Farm Workers Association. Later National was added on to National farm Workers Association and then finally United farm Workers Association. So that's that was his whole goal for moving there, though he didn't say that right away, and he also insistem of calling it a movement instead of a union, which honestly a little culty to me. But okay, I don't know, I don't know about all that. And during this time he had an immense amount of help from his wife, Helen Chatvis, Like none of this wouldn't be possible if it wasn't for her. Oh no, I mean she's holding down the house. If it wasn't for her, he wouldn't even be able to do this, like, you know.

32:30 On top of that, she also did extra work for you know, the union. Oh my god, how does she have time for all this? That's what I'm wondering. He was doing this on the back of his wife, just like all men go on. Yeah. He also around this time is when he started getting help from Dolores Wuerta would become a lifelong ally And of course there was a lot of people who had a lot of a big role informing this association that would be later forgotten to history. Like we have already had talked about Jesse Lopez l Gilbert by the yeah, is another person who would have such an important role in the whole union.

33:14 But you know, at the end of the day, the name of here is since Travis. And then like maybe sometimes the is what yeah, but certainly not as much as him. And then also like Helen, Like Helen had such a huge hand in all this, and like she is like just this forgotten person, which is insane to me but also not surprising. Yeah. So I mean she was like either at his side and anything involved in the union, or sometimes like a step ahead offering ideas. And it's like he gets the credit. I'm telling you, Yeah, man, Yeah, Sisad would trouble around the San Joaquin Valley meeting workers trying to get them to join. He during time, was living off of unemployment and Helen's wage as a farm laborer and donations from friends and family. They also moved to this area where they both had a lot of extended family, which was also a lot of help. But even then, Helen worked ten hour days, earning a dollar an hour. She woke up before dawn, made breakfast and lunches for the kids, left for work, came back to clean, cook, do all the laundry, care for the eight children at this point, ages three to thirteen, by herself. Oh my god, I'm I'm just tired listening to that. Oh dude, Okay.

34:38 The other day I was mad at my husband because he kept signing up for overtime, which meant that I need to do dinner. And I was like, I can't keep leaving like this, I can't keep living like this. Why are you doing this? Yeah, I'm not ashamed about it. I could never be this women, no me, and I am proud I say that I would literally die like I would. So, okay, let's move on because I would. Let's move on. Let's move on. So when the money was super super lower, on the verge of running out, this is finally when Sasid worked the fields too. Oh oh, it took that long. It took that out. Yeah, it took that almost having Uh. The first winter back in Delano was the most difficult. The unemployment money was running out, the bills were piling up, they were surviving on powdered eggs and beans. The kids started showing signs of malnutrition.

35:45 Oh no, but Saside was convinced on his union and that they would have enough members for him to take a small salary, and that that this work was more important. Dare I say it than feeding his family? And like, no, know, we know what he would go on to do, and we know that it was important work. I mean it was important. It was yeah, we know that. But it's like I would what was the cost? You know? And his kids you know today they're not going to say that either, But this was the truth. This is what they were going through, Like it's just damn, it's it's rough. It's rough. Yeah, yeah, And then nothing else to say other than it's rough. Finally, on September thirtieth, nineteen sixty two, the farm Worker Association was formalized. Their first order of business was to get life insurance policy for the members and then that the members would begin to pay three fifty a month that was their union dues. They decided to adopt the motto Viva la Causa or long Live the Cause, and Saysad was elected president and Dolor Esuerta, Julio Ornandez, and Gilbert Badiya were vice presidents. During this meeting, the official flag of the organization was revealed, and sin Seth had been working on the design for months. He studied marketing in grocery stores, billboards, cigarette packings. He looked at color combos, like what goes together? He studied what worked visually, including the Nazi colors. Wow, well, I mean

37:23 ultimately that's what he went with, right, Yeah, I guess the colors work. Yeah, red and black and white and why they just go together? Right? Forget the Nazi thing, and this is like the Atlas colors. I was gonna say, I would have gotten my I said, I would have gone with my and spoken from the soccer team from Guadala Halis called Nachiba's Atlas. That's what I would have said. Yeah, if I was Sasa Travis. But now everyone knows who Alas is. That's true, everyone knows who the Nazis are. Yeah, but look at him, look at him learning marketing. Yeah, I mean there's no denying his like engine ingenuity. Is that the word I'm looking for? Like his yeah, like on Genoa Yeah yeah, yeah, but yeah, I mean Nazi colors.

38:16 He did flat out say that he's like studying why Hitler chose the swastika. Oh my god, even say that, right, the swastika. Don't ask me, I was saying swastika. That sounds right. No, he even in this month, not in this month, don't ask me what. Yeah, don't know me nothing. So he Yeah, he was studying why Hitler chose the symbol the swastika and the Nazi flag colors, and this led him to choose black, red, and white for the unitiform worker's flag. The idea of the eagle came from the Blue Eagle of the New Deal, so, you know, not entirely not inspired, which I like, Oh, I just didn't know that and I had to include it. No, I mean, there's so much I didn't know about this man. Yeah, and yeah, and this is why we're spliting this into parts.

39:09 But I'm saying two parts, so we don't know. Maybe it'll become more. I'm halfway through the book right now and that's my main source and I'm just learning so much. I'm absorbing it and I'm like writing and I'm like, maybe it'll be more parts. I don't know yet. So anyway, not entirely not the inspired. Yes, also inspired from the New Deal, because this blue eagle from the Blue Deal, the Blue Deal. Sorry, too many words are very similar. This blue egle from the New Deal was used to signifying compliance with the standards of the National Recovery Administration. I don't know. It sounds boring, right, I mean, but it was. It was an image thing the New Deal. Yeah, and look up New Deal and what's his name, FDR? FDR, Yeah for more info. But eagles patriotic, Yeah, bald, powerful, Yeah, it's just say bald. They are bald. And yeah, I just didn't I did say that, Okay. Anyway, moving on, says that his brother, it might have been his cousin.

40:13 I remember Richard Chavis's name. I don't know. I mean, he ver eight siblings total, so yeah, so maybe it was. It might have been a brother. He drew the eagle with squared off wings and feet so that it was simple enough that anyone could draw the symbol. This was intentional the way the eagle looks, and yeah, it's very square, it's and it is probably anyway. I can't draw it, but anyone else could probably draw it. So they revealed. They revealed the flag at this meeting and immediately gasps and clap clapping from the crowd, and then someone asks what did it mean? And they had no answers. It didn't mean anything to them. Efforts and on the spot one of his brothers just what an improvisation. He said, the black ones for the workers aspiration, white for hope, and red for their sacrifice. Wow, I mean to be able to think of that on the spot, I mean amazing, Right, that's I'm really I'm only apping up the lingo from my Latina mind, the blood in my Latina veins. I must spit out my water. Okay. So so yeah, that's that's what they said the flag men, and they made it up on the spot. Really, it's because he liked the colors because the Nazis used them, right, I mean that wasn't like the full reason. But yeah. So, as

41:44 I mentioned earlier, Doloresuerta would become one of Cesar Javis's earliest and most loyal supporters, probably only second to his wife Helen. They knew each other from their days in the CSO, where they had both be were members of they both worked for the CSO. I'm not going to get too much into her because this would be insanely long. Again it already kind of is. But in many ways she was just like him completely and utterly dedicated to the cause, much to the detriment of her own personal relationships. Children included the cause Lausa. It came first for both of them. She was a dedicated worker, beyond dedicated dedicated.

42:32 If dedicated was like Sasir Chavis and Dorrosberta would be under the word dedicated. That's like they signified hers. I don't know what I'm saying anyway. She was also very outspoken, which is something not a lot of men were used to. She would like, if she didn't agree, she would say it. If she had a different thought, she would just say it. She would also center for herself, and this is not something a lot of Mexican men are used to. And that was including sad and Like. He usually would address his issues with her in private, but like there were occasions where he burst down anger at her in public. Damn there was a meeting he yelled at her, I don't give a down what you think or anyone thinks.

43:13 I'm going to run it the way I want to run it. And you don't like that too bad, get out. If you want to argue, get out. If you don't want to take orders for me, get out. I've had it damn. So yeah, he was known for his like occasional violent reactions to things, and you know, like on and on. I'm not going to get into the history completely of the farm Worker Association, and like what follows this is their building the union phase here that they're in. And so finally in nineteen sixty five, the NFWA more than double their income and was much more secure, and they began planning their first strike. So rose grafters approached them.

44:01 And for those that don't know, the rose grafting is the process of propagation where a piece of one rose fuses is fused onto another one. This is to pass better rose qualities onto another rose. Oh, I was like to what I end to what any wants a purpose? What was that reason? And these are highly skilled workers, They're very difficult to replace. So forty rose crafters asked for the farm Workers Association to help them strike for better conditions, and they agreed, and so this was kind of their first strike, although it wasn't held by them, they were helping the rose grafters. So the strike targeted the companies Mount Arbor and Conklin. The strike started or began on May third, nineteen sixty five and four days later, the companies agreed to raise wages. On day three of the strike, one worker almost broke the strike and bloged like she saw this worker's lights on very early in the house and she's like, oh no, he's trying to go to work, and she blocked this driveway with her car.

45:13 It takes yeah, seriously, and this just shows like the dedication of both the union and don't notice what that like she physically blocked his car. But yeah, the strike worked, although it ended earlier than the United farm Workers wanted, because they would have wanted a contract to come out of this, not just wages, like wages and a contract was their goal. But the rosecrafters agreed to the wage trace without a contract, and that's something Sasa Chravis was not a fan of, right, I mean, that makes sense to not be a fan of that, right. And this strike made, says Chravis, and the farm workers grow in popularity and the reputation as well because it was a successful strike. They also led a successful rent strike in the and how do you say this in English? To later to layer Tilarry, to Larry, thank you. They led a successful rent strike in to Larry Farm in the Tillarry Farm labor camp. Families were forced to live in one room. It was eleven by sixteen feet, and they were ten shacks and there was no indoor plumbing, and the shacks had holes in the walls, and so they wanted better living conditions. They wanted cheaper rents because we're also it was expensive even though it was bad, like a bad living space. So that was their second successful strike,

46:44 still not their own, still helping another organization. And you know, as many maybe by now in this episode this far you can tell, you might be able to tell. But if not, you know, so such as he liked to be the one in control of all things, especially the union, but like sometimes it just wasn't possible. Right, So in May nineteen sixty five, there was another union in the Coachella Valley. This was great season. The Brasselo program had come to an end, which is what the farm workers that were quote unquote legal, what they wanted, right. But growers, the farm owners, they were begging the government for another type of program to bring in temporary guest workers because they could pay them less. And so the government agreed and they had found guest workers. The wage was set for one forty an hour. And this other union, the a WALK Agriculture Agricultural Workers Organizing Committee, was made up of Filipino farm laborers. So the Filipino members of the a WALK were demanding that same wage, the one forty an hour that the temporary guest workers were being offered, and the growers, the farm owners, they denied this, giving them the same wage. So the Filipino members of eight WALK decided to strike. And so word of this, you know,

48:18 started spreading to grape season in Delano in September nineteen sixty five, and the members of the IWANTA had worked the season you know, up in the Coachella Valley. They were expecting that same one forty wage. When they got to Delano in September, growers there were not they were not paying this. They were just paying what they wanted, which was usually one twenty five an hour. But these other workers had already been they had already been living that one forty wage life right an hour, one forty hour wage, which is I mean pay them more, pay the more always, you know. Yeah, And so on the morning of September eighth, nineteen sixty five, the Filipino workers refused to leave their camps at the Deleno vineyards, and they refused. They refused to work, they didn't go into the fields, they did not leave their camps. Word of this spread and soon members of the farm Workers Association, says Sar Chavis's union, were asking, well, when are we going to strike because the other members were striking. Either it was become scabs and break the Filipinos strike and work, or also strike, and says the Chavis didn't think they were ready for a strike. He was not, like, if it was up to him, this wouldn't have happened at this point in time at all. So then Larry and I can't say his last name, Italyon. He was the head of the De Leno a walk the Filipino farm workers.

49:52 He went to Cesar Chavis because if the Mexicans broke their strike, the Filipino union would not survive. He needed uniform workers to join their strike, and Sinsar Chavis, very unhappy that he was forced into action, called the meeting on a September sixteenth, nineteen sixty five, to yell and everyone no, no, right, no, no, surprisingly no. He chose Stember sixteenth because, as you and I both know, this happens to also be an important day of Mexico's independence day, so that's why he called the meeting on that day. Sas Ar Chavis made sure to mention the symbolism of this day. He compared their struggles to the struggles of the Mexican independence from Spain. And the fifth item of the meeting was a vote. Would the workers of the United form Workers Association vote to strike? And of course they did, and so you know, they were shouting Viva Nostra, Viva Lauelga, Viva Sar Chavez, and the strike was on.

50:58 They joined the Filipino farm workers. Honestly, I want to hear it. Yeah, this and this is the stuff that I think we already know a little more when you hear the yeah, the story of Sister Tavis. So on the morning of September twenty two, hundred strikers gathered in front of the farm Workers Association the offices. They were each handed coffee and a round sign with the word welga, and their first jobs or assignments were to find workers as they headed into the fields and get them to join the strike. Then they shifted to the roads along the fields and Mexican and Filipino workers walk the picket lines together, because I think another thing that happens often when we talk about this movement is that the Filipino farmworkers are erased from the story. The logistics of the strike alone were insane and danting. Like, honestly, how they even did this is insane to me, because it's a lot of ground to cover. This is a big, big farm at every picket line. The workers were or the workers, the growers, the farm owners. They were there trying to undermine the strikers. They blasted music to try and drown out the chanteing. They would drive their trucks to create dust clouds so that the strikers couldn't breathe. They sprayed them with sulfur. What kind of shit is this? Yeah?

52:22 What the fuck? Yeah? Okay, so they would drive their trucks close enough to nip the heels of the picket line. Oh my god. Yeah. They tried their best to get strikers to react violently, but Sessa Chavis insisted that they resist because again, nonviolence. He was very big on peaceful protest and so on the first Sunday after the strike began, the only day off for the workers, Filipino and Mexican members and their families met at a park where they had a kaddasada and they broke piatas together, the children and those. Yeah, they really came together. These are two group said, prior to this had not come together. So I just love this unity that sadly would not last. Yeah, because of which, right, huh? I said, because of Chavis? Right? No, precisely, okay, And we'll get into that in part two. So says Chavis continued to rely on unconventional tactics tactics throughout this strike.

53:24 He got Father Keith Kenny, a priest from Sacramento who also had a pilot license, to find them and the yeah to buy him above the fields on his Cessna one eighty. Father Kenny had also mounted portable speak of portable speaker system onto the plane. His plane's name was El Macho. Okay, okay, And so, says Chavis, would speak to the strikers from the plane while they flew around above it. Wow. This did get them in trouble though when they landed to grow and those are the farm owners, the growers. Yeah, so two growers and a sheriff for their waiting for father Kenny and Cesar Chavis, and they charged SASA Travis with violating the County Ordinance of Broadcasting from the error and they were like, they couldn't arrest them for that. They had to file complaints to the FAA.

54:21 Oh wow, that's so random. Mm hmmm. Another thing that was very important to Sesar Chevis was for them to have a newspaper for the union, and they did. Okay, I remember learning about that. Yeah, it was called the Malcriado. What a name. Okay, Okay, you don't like translate this in English? Don't hate it? Boil right, oh, I would say so, yeah, I guess so someone that was in like raised right, oh yeah, doesn't behave Well, it's whatever translated to misbehaved, the misbehaved one. I guess if you like, if you literally translate it, yeah yeah yeah, but I guess we would use it as someone that spoiled. So yeah, that's what I took it as. But I'm I mean it could be also misbehaving, so yeah, yeah, when you think of it as the misbehaved one, Yeah, I like the name better than the spoiled one. Yeah, but that's just the newspaper's name in milk Triallo and the man Criado was essential for spreading news and keeping spirits high, and the newspaper was bringing more outside help to the union.

55:32 The newspaper was how Steve, Steve Valdez found about found out about all this. And Steve Valdez was the son of farm workers. He wasn't a farm worker himself. He had actually gone to college and was like a playwright. He had an off Broadway show in New York, So pretty big deal, I think so as a as the son of a farm worker and as a Mexican American, he was always aware of the injustice and racism, and like he talked about one time when he was in school, he wanted to be a hall monitor and they chose a white kid over him, And when he demanded to know why, the teacher told him, well, this student is the son of a grower. He needs to learn to give orders, and you're the son of a farm worker, you need to learn to receive orders. Wow, isn't that so bullshit? Like what the fuck? What do you mean?

56:20 H hate that? Yeah, I hate that. So when Steve Valdes's mom would send him update the newspaper, basically send it to him, so he could read about it. He reached out to Sasa Chevis and was like, I want to work for the union. I want to work with you guys. And he offered to hold planes and so sarch Chavis told him like, we don't have money, we can't pay you, we have nothing to offer. But Steve Valdez was in and he started doing little skits at the picket lines. At first this was educational, but then a little bit of comedy was added in Okay, Teatro Campetino was born. Okay, I think I heard of that also, I'm sure you have. The strike was only growing stronger when Kern County Sheriff threatened picketers. So when the Kern County Sheriff threatened picketers by telling them that they couldn't shout welga because it was legal, says that Chevis recruited Helen Chamis. He asked her and a group of women if they would be willing to be arrested, and of course they were. So a group of women, a dozen ministers, and some farm workers got together on the morning of October nineteenth, nineteen sixty five. It was a total of forty four members and they went outside of the camp, the camps of one of the rowers. They stood out there and they just began shouting welga at the top of their lungs. All forty four of them were arrested and charged with unlawful assembly and just serving the peace.

57:51 The Union did not post bail. They held a vigil outside of the jail where they had the children of the mothers who had just been arrested. The present. Actually, you know, I love that. Yeah, I mean like genius because now it's is tugging at the hearts of people who are like, we don't have enough money to bail their mothers. Look at the children. They raised a thousand dollars from this. Wow, they know what works. Yeah. Yeah. This is also when the FBI began their official surveillance of the Union and they reopened that file that they out on Seesar travel. Wait that name. It doesn't that so familiar? Yep. And so of course we can't talk about every single thing the Union did. I will get a little more into this whole grape strike situation because this lasted a long time, you know. Then we have the march, the famous famous march. I'm going to get into all that, and and hopefully we'll get into more of the downfall of the union and the split between the Filipino farm workers from them as well. Sit it on next episode. This is where I'm going to end it.

59:03 I'm actually very curious about this sitting on angle and I'm scared to find out thing yellow yellow Yeah, okay, yeah, wow, very interesting so far. Yeah. I meant, honestly meant to keep this shorter, but it was impossible. Yeah. I was like, when when's she gonna's I need that to be on the record, It'll say on the record. I'm lying. I don't want you to defame me. Not this month, please not this month. No, we can't. But yeah, I mean I wanted to mention all this because honestly, we have to remind I mentioned everything that we can, but also like very basic because this is just still service level.

59:50 I mean, it's a little more than space level. But yeah, so much so. I'm gonna have to check out this book from you, A fascinating, fascinating book. It's called The Crusade of actual book right, not like an ebook. I have the e book the book because I didn't want to wait. I wanted to something. Okay, Yeah, I'm running into that myself because I'm waiting for a book. Yeah, and I have ordered books and waited. Yeah, but it's rough. Waiting is rough, it is, it is. I die inside the more I have to wait. I had to wait because the e book was like thirty something dollars and I found a youth book from Powell's that's being sent to me. Okay, and it's only twenty of those ten dollars. Okay, that's nice. Yeah, and of course ours are all in the show notes. But this author is a journalist. It's probably the most in depth bug fray that exists of says such Javis. Fired into the book, she puts some articles out on I want to say it was the La Times about says such Javist. Those articles were the precursor to her book. But the book goes way more in depth. And this isn't even like again, way more in depth. I highly recommend the book to everyone, but I mean even mentioning this stuff. It's like stuff I didn't know what about. I know you've said of such Javis Okay, okay, I actually as a crusader crusades, I think that would be close enough to find it. Still, the Crusades of sa such Chabis by Miriam Powell. And again it'll be in the show notes. So yeah, we

1:01:20 have reached the end of this part one and I'm hoping only two parts in total, but it maybe three because yeah, we'll see, we'll see. So yeah, anything else side before we go. I know you're hungry, so probably not. No, no, no, I gotta go. All right's gotta go. Thanks for listening. Thank you new listeners. Oh wait, sorry, no, I did have something to say. I noticed on Spotify and we have a one new rating. Oh so thank you whoever that was. Thank you for bringing our average up. We are not at four point one. Oh good, because remember for a while we were at three point nine. Let's not speak of those times. That's not spend those times.

1:02:02 And we know, we know, yeah, we're not going to get into it. We released episodes on a certain someone, certain people that are fan of that. When someone found it bombarded us with one stars, so yeah, look at it. That was it anyway. Yeah, thanks new listeners that are checking us out, people finding us probably Threads honestly is lazy. Maybe Threads welcome. Yeah, listeners, thank you. We hope that you like what you listen to and everyone else. We hope that this was one less estoria known for you. Bye,