In the 1940s and ‘50s, farm laborers in California, many of them Mexican and Filipino, faced low wages and brutal working conditions. Their demands for change were often met with harsh tactics from the powerful growers. Soon, a plainspoken but magnetic labor organizer named Cesar Chavez stepped forward to rally workers in California’s San Joaquin Valley. Cha ... Show More
May 2023
United Farm Workers | The Grape Strike | 2
In 1964, the United States finally ended the controversial Bracero Program, which had flooded American farms with millions of low-paid guest workers from Mexico who competed for jobs with resident laborers. Soon after, the two largest farm worker unions in California united and l ... Show More
41m 49s
Oct 2022
Cesar Chavez’s campaign for farm workers
In the 1960s, a wave of strikes and protest marches by Mexican-American farm workers inspired Latinos across the US. The movement was led by Cesar Chavez - a man now regarded by his community as a civil rights hero. Dolores Huerta, who coined the slogan “yes we can!”, worked clos ... Show More
10m 10s
Sep 2023
Christian O. Paiz, "The Strikers of Coachella: A Rank-And-File History of the UFW Movement" (UNC Press, 2023)
The past decades have borne witness to the United Farm Workers' (UFW) tenacious hold on the country's imagination. Since 2008, the UFW has lent its rallying cry to a presidential campaign and been the subject of no less than nine books, two documentaries, and one motion picture. ... Show More
1h 10m
Sep 2023
105: Cesar Chavez, Dolores Huerta & The Struggle Of America's Farm Workers: The Dark History of the Chicano Movement
Welcome to the Dark History podcast. Today we’re talking about the Chicano Movement. Before this movement, just saying the word “boycott” could get you SIX MONTHS in prison. And many Americans weren’t even allowed to take a break, drink water, or even use the bathroom. So yeah, t ... Show More
46m 34s