If you look at a history book about farmworkers in America, you’ll probably see a lot about Cesar Chavez, but you might miss the man who actually started the whole thing: Larry Itliong. 

A Filipino-American immigrant with a cigar in his mouth and a lot of fire in his heart, Itliong was the one who actually kicked off the famous 1965 Delano Grape Strike. At the time, farm owners were treating workers like they weren’t even human, paying them pennies and making them work in brutal conditions. Itliong, who led a group of Filipino workers called the Agricultural Workers Organizing Committee, decided they had finally had enough and walked off the fields. Realizing that the farmers were trying to play the Filipino and Mexican workers against each other to keep them weak, Itliong opted for a solution. He convinced the different groups to unite into one big union, which eventually became the United Farm Workers, proving that solidarity is way more powerful than any one group acting alone. 

Itliong’s life was basically a masterclass in grit. He was nicknamed “Seven Fingers” because he lost three of them in a freak accident at a cannery, which is probably why he fought so hard for safety and workers’ rights, he knew exactly how dangerous those jobs could be. He spent years traveling from the freezing cold salmon canneries in Alaska to the hot vineyards of California, organizing anyone who was being exploited. Even though he was a tough negotiator, he did everything for the “Manongs” , the older Filipino men who had moved to the U.S. to work but were left with no families or money in their old age. He fought so they could have a place to live and a sense of dignity. 

Larry Itliong didn’t care about being the face of a movement; he just wanted to make sure that the people who put food on our tables weren’t being treated like dirt. He’s a reminder that real change starts when the people who are usually ignored finally decide to stand up and speak for themselves.