(1927 – 1993) Cesar Chavez grew up in a family that lost its small farm due to the Great Depression.

In 1965 he founded the United Farm Workers of America, a California-based union for agricultural workers, which brought attention to the squalid conditions these workers endured and the low wages they earned for back-breaking labor. His call for a national boycott of table grapes eventually led to union agreements with several large growers.

Chavez’s work brought about improved wages and benefits for migratory agricultural workers throughout the Southwest; he also encouraged Mexican Americans to become more politically active.