The March that Mobilized a Movement: Cesar Chavez leads a pilgrimage through the Central Valley

United Farm Workers Union President César Chávez speaks with reporters in Fresno in 1978. The farm labor movement began a new period of political awareness and achievement for much of the county’s Mexican-origin population. Photographer: Richard Darby, The Fresno Bee

There’s one thing everyone in the Central Valley agrees on: it gets HOT here in the summer. Think, for a minute, about those triple-digit days, when the temperature reaches 100+ degrees Fahrenheit. It’s the kind of heat that makes your lungs burn and drives most people inside. But retreating into air conditioning isn’t an option for agricultural workers who harvest crops in hot, dusty fields at the height of summer. Now imagine working in this heat without breaks or adequate bathrooms or access to clean water. This was a daily reality for farmworkers 60 years ago. 

In March 1966, Cesar Chavez started a journey that would take him through California’s Central Valley and highlight the need for social and economic justice for farmworkers. This “peregrinación” or pilgrimage began in the small rural community of Delano, CA, where, six months earlier, workers refused to pick grapes until conditions improved. This would later become known as the “wrath of grapes” boycott. When the striking laborers were sprayed with pesticides, Chavez and other leaders of the labor movement took action and began the 300-mile trek to Sacramento. 

Friday, July 22, 1966 - NFWA STAFF--From left, James Drake, administrative assistant; César Chávez, director; Mrs. Dolores Huerta, vice president, and Alex Hoffman, attorney for the National Farm Workers Association sit together at the witness table at the State Senate.

This journey, which Mr. Chavez called a fight for “bread and dignity,” would take them through Porterville, Visalia, Cutler, Parlier, Malaga, Fresno, Chowchilla, and other Central Valley communities. Along the way, thousands of people joined the march in a show of solidarity with farm laborers who had grown weary of backbreaking work in staggering heat for little pay and without basic necessities. 

Mr. Chavez and the others weren’t marching for generous union agreements or lavish benefits. They just wanted the most basic of rights: access to bathrooms, water breaks, and a wage that honored their labor and allowed them to support their families. It was a fight for dignity.

A grape grower in the Del Rey area pauses his work to watch the farm workers march past his ranch. The growers all along the route of the march watched and many took photographs of the marchers. No remarks passed between the two groups. Grape growers called the procession a parade.

It also attracted the attention of national figures like Robert F. Kennedy and led to a nationwide boycott of California grapes and the grocery stores that sold them. Five years later, these activities bore fruit: 26 Delano-area growers negotiated and signed the United States’ first labor union contract for farmworkers. 

Born in Yuma, Arizona, Mr. Chavez worked as a manual laborer before and after serving in the United States Navy. He married his high school sweetheart, Helen, and they had 8 children and 31 grandchildren. Along with Dolores Huerta, he co-founded the National Farm Workers Association, which later became the United Farm Workers labor union. He passed away in his sleep in 1993 at the age of 66. 

Mr. Chavez’s work continues to positively impact the Central Valley by improving safety, benefits, and fair pay for agricultural workers. Every March 31, Californians honor Mr. Chavez on his birthday. This year, he would have turned 99. 

In California, students honor the milestone work of César Chávez on his birthday, March 31^st, each year. His work is examined in books and documentaries and school curricula.  His name is on schools and streets and parks, his figure in statues.

To celebrate, Binational of Central California is hosting its second Cesar E. Chavez Celebration Breakfast on March 27. It’s an event Binational’s president & CEO, Ricardo Castorena, started last year and hopes will become an annual tradition. All are welcome to attend. View ticket information here. 

“We feel Cesar Chavez’s impact every single day,” Mr. Castorena said. “His legacy lives on in the Central Valley, and farm workers today enjoy the benefits Chavez fought for: better conditions, better pay, and hope for a better future.” 

Binational of Central California helps make healthcare available and equitable for underserved people, including those who work in agriculture. 

Learn how you can get involved at Binational of Central California - Empowering Communities with Vital Resources.  

This story is part of the Central Valley Community Foundation’s “Sixty Stories That Shaped Us” initiative to help mark 60 years since our founding. We invite you to join us in celebrating this milestone as well as this special place we call home. To learn more, visit us at centralvalleycf.org and follow us on Facebook, Instagram and LinkedIn @centralvalleycf.