1966: CESAR CHAVEZ AND HIS NFWA
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27DAY-BY-DAY, THE MARCH MOVED CLOSER AND CLOSER TO SACRAMENTO, AND MORE AND MORE FARMWORKERS AND THEIR SUPPORTERS JOINED THE MARCH. WHAT STARTED IN DELANO WITH FEWER THAN 75 MARCHERS HAD NOW SWELLED TO MORE THAN A THOUSAND.
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28EL TEATRO CAMPESINO, BRAINCHILD OF LUIS VALDEZ AND AGUSTIN LIRA, PLAYED A CRITICAL ROLE IN THE MARCH. AT THE EVENING RALLY AT THE END OF THE DAY'S MARCH, EL TEATRO PERFORMED. THEY SANG, PERFORMED SLAPSTICK "ACTOS" DEPICTING THE STRUGGLE OF THE FARMWORKERS WITH THE GROWERS, LABOR CONTRACTORS AND LOCAL POLICE. THE AUDIENCE APPLAUDED AND ROARED ALOUD IN SUPPORT OF THEIR PERFORMANCES, THEN LUIS DECLAIMED "PLAN OF DELANO," THE REVOLUTIONARY THEME OF THE MARCH, AND INTRODUCED CESAR CHAVEZ, THE MAIN EVENT.
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29CESAR CHAVEZ WAS NOT A FIREBRAND SPEAKER, IN FACT JUST THE OPPOSITE. LOW KEY, SOFT-SPOKEN AND SINCERE, HE WAS ABLE TO MOVE HIS AUDIENCE WITH HIS CANNY ABILITY TO EXPLAIN COMPLEX MATTERS IN WORDS AND ANALOGIES THAT MADE SENSE TO PEOPLE. HE EXUDED CONFIDENCE AND FEARLESSNESS, HE EMPOWERED HIS AUDIENCE TO BELIEVE THEY COULD OVERCOME THE INJUSTICE THAT ENSLAVED THEM. "SI SE PUEDE!" BECAME HIS SIGNATURE MOTTO.
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30THE DELANO STRIKERS WHO WERE UNABLE TO PARTICIPATE IN THE ENTIRE 300-MILE MARCH, BROUGHT THEIR FAMILIES WITH THEM TO JOIN FOR THE FINAL WEEK BEFORE ARRIVING AT THE STATE CAPITOL.
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31IN THE LAST DAYS OF THE MARCH, THE CROWDS BECAME SO LARGE, THAT PARTS OF THE HIGHWAY HAD TO BE CLOSED TO ACCOMODATE THEM. THOUSANDS AND THOUSANDS OF PEOPLE FROM THROUGHOUT CALIFORNIA WANTED TO BE PART OF THIS HISTORIC EVENT.
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32EASTER SUNDAY, 1966. CESAR CHAVEZ AND GILBERT PADILLA ON STAGE PREPARE FOR THE PROGRAM. MORE THAN TEN THOUSAND FRIENDS AND SUPPORTERS OF THE FARMWORKER MOVEMENT WERE ON HAND TO WELCOME THE DELANO STRIKERS AS THEY CROSSED OVER THE SACRAMENTO RIVER AND WALKED UP CAPITOL MALL TO THE STATE CAPITOL BUILDING. GOVERNOR PAT BROWN SNUBBED THE FARMWORKERS; HE WAS VACATIONING AT THE ESTATE OF FRANK SINATRA IN PALM SPRINGS. HE WOULD NOT BE RE-ELECTED GOVERNOR.
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33CESAR CHAVEZ AND THE MARCH TO SACRAMENTO GAVE FARMWORKERS HOPE. HE EMPOWERED THEM TO BELIEVE THAT IF THEY WERE WILLING TO SACRIFICE FOR THE SAKE OF LA CAUSA, THEY WOULD HAVE A VOICE, THEY WOULD BE HEARD, THEY WOULD ENJOY THE SAME RIGHTS AS OTHER WORKERS IN THE U.S.
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34CAPITALIZING ON THE SUCCESS OF THE MARCH TO SACRAMENTO - ONLY DAYS BEFORE THE FARMWORKERS ARRIVED IN SACRAMENTO, SCHENLEY INDUSTRIES, A MAJOR U.S. LIQUOR COMPANY RECOGNIZED THE NFWA AND AGREED TO NEGOTIATE A CONTRACT - CESAR CHAVEZ ORGANIZED A MARCH IN SAN FRANCISCO TO ANNOUNCE THE START OF A CONSUMER BOYCOTT AGAINST THE SAN FRANCISCO-BASED DIGIORGIO CORPORATION.
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35DELANO FARMWORKERS, JOINED BY OTHER LABOR UNION WORKERS, CAME TO SAN FRANCISCO TO MARCH AND CARRY "BOYCOTT DIGIORGIO" PICKET SIGNS.
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36AT CITY HALL IN SAN FRANCISCO, CESAR CHAVEZ ANNOUNCED THE BOYCOTT TO SEVERAL THOUSAND FARMWORKER SUPPORTERS.
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37IN 1964, THE CIVIL RIGHTS MOVEMENT HAD ITS MISSISSIPPI SUMMER PROJECT, AND IN 1966, THE FARMWORKERMOVEMENT HAD ITS DELANO SUMMER PROJECT. COLLEGE STUDENTS FROM THROUGHOUT THE UNITED STATES VOLUNTEERED TO COME TO DELANO TO HELP THE DELANO STRIKERS.
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38CESAR CHAVEZ RELISHED THESE VOLUNTEER ORIENTATION SESSIONS - HE WAS THE GIFTED MASTER TEACHER AND THE COLLEGE STUDENT VOLUNTEERS WERE HIS GRADUATE STUDENTS. CESAR CHAVEZ HAD THE ABILITY TO BREAKDOWN, ANALYZE, AND EXPLAIN COMPLEX ISSUES INTO CONCEPTS THAT COULD BE EASILY UNDERSTOOD - HE TALKED COMMON SENSE.
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