March to Sacramento 1966
(You might want to start at :40)
Dolores Huerta and Cesar Chavez teamed up in 1962 to form the United Farm Workers of America (UFWA) in order to improve the working conditions for the workers. The farm employees were making as low as 70 cents an hour, didn’t have access to toilets or cold drinking water and weren’t given breaks.
A long time activist, Huerta faced threats of physical violence, threats of prison time and sexism. She went on to receive numerous awards for advocating for the rights of workers, immigrants and women.
March to Sacramento
In 1965, Huerta led the grape workers to strike. The next year, Cesar Chavez and 67 other grape farm workers marched 340 miles to Sacramento, California, to protest against these unfair conditions. Protestors carried signs that said, “Huelga!” and “Don’t Buy California Grapes”. Along the way, the group grew in size. By the time they arrived in Sacramento, there were thousands of workers protesting.
In the end, the grape growers signed a contract that allowed the farm workers to unionize with collective bargaining rights. This meant that all the farm workers could have a collective, unanimous voice in determining their rights and responsibilities as workers.
Dolores Huerta Curriculum Resources:
Huerta Girl Scout Patch: Activities for K-12 that can be adapted for schools
Dolores Huerta: Collaborating to Affect Change (elementary lesson plan)
Dolores Huerta: Building Coalitions to Affect Change (middle school lesson plan)
Martin Luther King, Jr. and Cesar Chavez:
1966 Telegram Where MLK Tells Cesar Chavez “Our Separate Struggles Are Really One”
The Interconnected Lives of Martin Luther King, Jr., Robert F. Kennedy, and Cesar Chavez
Other related lesson plans (middle/high school)
Huerta/Chavez Advisory Slides (five 15-20-minute learning activities featuring videos and short readings about prominent, inspiring Latino Americanos for secondary advisory classes)
Other related lesson plans (middle/high school)
Huerta/Chavez Advisory Slides (five 15-20-minute learning activities featuring videos and short readings about prominent, inspiring Latino Americanos for secondary advisory classes)
Cesar Chavez/ UFW K-5 Book List
Lista de libros acerca de César Chávez / UFW (nivel Kinder - grado 5)
First day in grapes by L. King Perez
A picture book of Cesar Chavez by David Adler
A day’s work by Eve Bunting
Gathering the sun: an ABC in Spanish and English by Alma Flor Ada
Harvesting hope: the story of Cesar Chavez by Kathleen Krull
Cesar Chavez by Josh Gregory
Cesar Chavez “On My Own Biography” by Ginger Wadsworth
Cesar Chavez: the struggle for justice by Richard Grisold del Castillo
Dolores Huerta: a hero to migrant workers by Sarah E. Warren
Side by side: the story of Dolores Huerta and Cesar Chavez by Monica Brown
Strike! : the farm workers’ fight for their rights by Larry Dane Brimner
Portraits of Hispanic American heroes by Juan Felipe Herrera
With courage: seven women who changed America by Lynea Bowdish
Bravo! : poems about amazing Hispanics Margarita Engle
Calling the doves by Juan Felipe Herrera
Cesar: sí, se puede/yes, we can! by Carmen Bernier-Grand
The Circuit: stories from the life of a migrant child by Francisco Jimenez
ONLINE: Cesar Chavez: Migrant Hero; The Life of Cesar Chavez
Libros en español o bilingües:
Cosechando esperanza: la historia de Cesar Chavez por Kathleen Krull
Lado a lado: la historia de Dolores Huerta y Cesar Chavez por Monica Brown
Cesar Chavez: la lucha por la justicia por Richard Grisold
Cesar Chavez y la máquina del tiempo by Juan Carlos Quezadas
Cesar: sí, se puede! por Carmen Bernier-Grand
La mariposa por Francisco Jimenez
EN LINEA: Cesar Chavez: Héroe Migrante; La Vida de Cesar Chavez
Biography of Cesar Chavez (K-3 and up)
Biografía de César Chávez (en español)
Biography of Dolores Huerta (Grade 6 and up)
Cesar Chavez Reading (Grade 6+ ): Springfield Public Schools Only / Outside Springfield Public Schools
"Si se puede" ~Dolores Huerta
"Yes, we can"
“La conservación de nuestra propia cultura no requiere que se desdeñen ni desprecien otras" ~César Estrada Chávez
"The preservation of one's own culture does not require that other be disdained or despised."
“Necesitamos ayudar a los estudiantes y a sus padres a amar y conservar la diversidad étnica y cultural que nutre y fortalece esta comunidad -y esta nación.” ~César E. Chávez
"We need to help students and their parents love and preserve the ethnic and cultural diversity that nourishes and strengthens this community - and this nation."
“Muchos años de enseñanzas mal enfocadas han dado como resultado la destrucción de lo mejor de nuestra sociedad, nuestras culturas y nuestro ambiente.”
“La verdadera educación debe consistir en resaltar la bondad y lo mejor de nuestros propios estudiantes. ¿Qué mejores libros puede haber que el de la humanidad misma?” ~ César E. Chávez
"Many years of misfocused teachings have resulted in the destruction of the best of our society, our cultures, and our environment."
“True education should be about bringing out the goodness and the best in our own students. What better books can there be than those of humanity itself? "
“Es posible desanimarse por las injusticias que vemos por todas partes. Pero Dios no nos prometió que el mundo sería humano y justo. Nos da la vida y nos permite escoger el modo en que utilizaremos nuestro tiempo limitado en la tierra. Es una oportunidad imponente ~ César E. Chávez
“It is possible to get discouraged by the injustices that we see everywhere. But God did not promise us that the world would be humane and just. He gives us life and allows us to choose how we will use our limited time on earth. It is an awesome opportunity. "
“Cuando se está junto a personas que creen en algo con mucha firmeza — ya sea en la religión, la política o los sindicatos— se logran muchas cosas.”César E. Chávez
"When people get together who believe in something strongly - whether it's religion, politics or unions - many things are achieved."
"YO NO LE TENGO MIEDO A NADA" (Palabras de la canción)
Yo no le tengo miedo a nada,
A nada le tengo miedo yo.
Unos pierden y otros ganan
Pero a mi no me gusta perder.
Yo no le tengo miedo a nada
A nada le tengo miedo yo,
Unos pierden y otros ganan
Pero a mi no me gusta perder.
Y per eso les digo a mis amigos,
Que se paren ya devender,
Porque aquel que es vendido,
Siempre le vade perder.
Mira mlra, mira mira
Mira mira como corren
Parece que se paran
El trabajo perderán,
Que no saben esquiroles
Que ya la llevan de perder.
"Y si como les digo,
Que sigan corriendo,
Que se sigan escondíendose de la verdad,
Que al cabo que aquel que es estúpido
En la frente se le ve la P."
Pero Yo a no le tengo miedo a nada
A nada la tengo miedo yo
Unos pierden y otros ganan
Pero a mi no me gusta perder
Corran, corran esquiroles,
Y no dejan de correr,
Que muy cercas los Huelguistas
Ya los van a convencer.
(Augustine Lira)
County Commissioner Joe Berney remembers working with Dolores Huerta.
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