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Dear Behavioral Health Colleagues,
On March 31st, we celebrate Cesar Chavez Day! Cesar Chavez was born in 1927 in Yuma, Arizona, to a family of migrant farm workers. He spent much of his childhood working in the fields alongside his family and experienced firsthand the hardships and injustices faced by farm workers, including low wages, poor working conditions, and lack of access to healthcare and education.
Chavez became involved in the labor movement in the 1950s, working with the Community Service Organization (CSO) to advocate for the rights of Mexican-American workers. During his time with CSO, he coordinated voter registrations and he led campaigns against racial and economic discrimination. In 1962, he founded the National Farm Workers Association (later renamed the United Farm Workers), which became one of the most influential labor unions in the country.
In 1965, Cesar Chavez and his organization, United Farm Workers, joined Filipino and Mexican-American farm workers in Delano, California to strike against grape growers in the area, demanding higher wages and better working conditions. Cesar Chavez led a 340-mile march from Delano to Sacramento to bring awareness to "La Causa" of farm workers. The strike and boycott lasted 5 years and United Farm Workers successfully secured border rights and better wages. The Delano Grape Strike also had a profound impact on the civil rights movement, as it brought attention to the struggles of farm workers, many of whom were people of color and immigrants. The strike was a powerful example of the intersection of labor rights and civil rights, and inspired many other movements for social justice.
Chavez's leadership and activism helped to improve the lives of millions of farm workers, including securing collective bargaining rights, better wages and working conditions, and access to healthcare and education. He also fought for environmental justice and advocated for the rights of immigrants. Today, the Delano Strike is a symbol of the power of collective action and CBHA understands the importance of collaboration between all parts of the system to ensure success.
It is clear that the social determinants of health played a big role in Cesar Chavez's pursuit for justice. When the conditions in which people are born, grow, live and work are poor, this negatively impacts their behavioral health. Cesar Chavez's pursuit for justice is a prime example of the need to address some of the structural factors that contribute to health inequalities.
Today, we recognize Cesar Chavez's courage to stand up and have community voices heard, we applaud him for his perseverance and resilience and we thank him for paving a way for advocacy for future generations.
In Service,
CBHA Staff
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