Cesar Chavez

In honor of Hispanic Heritage Month, every school day The Cardinal will feature a prominent and historical Hispanic American, living or dead, who has worked toward change, advancement, and/or world peace. Some of them are heroes, and some are unsung heroes, who deserve recognition, and have made a contribution to society.

September 21, 2023

Cesar Chavez created change to make this world a better place by being a well known civil rights activist. Cesar Chavez was born March 31, 1927, in Yuma, Arizona to a Mexican-American family. He died April 23, 1993 unexpectedly in his sleep in San Luis, Arizona. When Chavez was alive, he was a farm laborer, but he was also a co-founder of the National Farm Workers Association in 1962. Chavez had many losses, but a significant loss is losing his family’s farm during the Great Depression. He and his family then moved to California, where the family worked as migrant workers. Chavez lived in many migrant camps and was put into school as well. Working in farms and around migrant workers, he was training to become an organizer. The training paid off when he became a general director and soon resigned, to co-find the National Farm Workers Association. September 1965 is a significant and memorable date for a reason. This is the year Chavez began leading the Delano Grape Strike, which lasted for five years. The strike he began by California grape pickers and a nationwide boycott of California grapes. The strike gained lots of attention and by the late 1960s, an opportunity was brought to the eyes of the Teamsters Union. The Teamsters Union fought against Chavez, becoming a known rival organizer. Soon after the conflict, peace was found. Chavez’s activism was admired and rewarded for showing support to people who worked tirelessly without using acts of violence.

About the Contributor

Nathalia Truong, Staff Writer

Nathalia Truong is a 15 year old sophomore at Hoover High School. She likes watching shows and movies, as well as listening to music. Whether it may be a really long series or a short horror film, something about cinema is comforting. She can’t go a day without listening to music. You may see her around campus, and when you do, she’s never without her airpods. Guaranteed, songs are blasting through them. She dislikes not knowing what her future holds. Just thinking about what could’ve been, makes her anxious as is, but thinking about what could be, overthrows what could’ve been. Though she fears not knowing what the future may hold, one of her biggest goals in life is being able to live a life that is to be proud of. This goal is something she looks forward to achieving, but as of right now, her main goal is to figure out what she wants to do after high school. Almost everyone knows what path they’ll take after high school, except her. She knows she should go to college, but she doesn’t know what major would be a good fit for her. Nathalia does the bare minimum to keep the world around her afloat. However, to start changing it, she’ll start doing above the minimum. Society always thinks to make the world a better place, but before doing so, society needs to make themselves better. Nathalia works on bettering herself everyday, in hopes of bettering what’s around her.