2016 Cesar Chavez Essay Contest 1st Place Winner, High School Category
How has Cesar Chavez influenced your life and what impact will his work have on your future?
By: Sthefany Pedraza Jaimes, Chestatee High School, Gainesville, GA
Cesar Chavez has a place of admiration and respect not only from me but also from those people who like his example, want to overcome and live in an environment of peace. The history and legacy of Cesar Chavez begins near Yuma, Arizona, where he was born o n March 31, 1927. He moved to California where he had to work, as many of immigrants do, in the fields, to support his family. During the time he worked in the fields, he found the reason what he would dedicate his life on, try to obtain rights for farm workers. Rights such as lower wages and better working conditions.
The fact that Chavez was from a low income family makes it interesting the way he achieved his goal because he didn’t have resources but determination to obtain his objective. Thanks to his foundation of the United Farm Workers and the use of non violence to protest their rights, Chavez and his union became nationally known. The impact that Chavez made in society as an outstanding Mexican American leader puts him as a legend. After witnessing how Cesar Chavez led the historic nonviolent movement for farm worker rights, many thousands of people who never worked in agriculture were committed themselves to social, economic and environmental justice and civil rights. Chavez’s work makes me proud because I am also Mexican, and because my parents and I have worked in fields planting and harvesting goods to survive. As I was reading, I remember the time when my family and I used to live in Mexico. The fact that Chavez spent his life helping farm workers to obtain rights motivates me to do something for our society. Since Hispanics a re one of the fastest growing populations in the country, it is inevitable to notice the challenges that this community faces in some areas such as health care, education, and economic issues. Many of Hispanics people don’t have health care and education because so many of them are immigrants. Unemployment is the result of this situation because they don’t have the education to get a good job to work and apply for a legal status to live in this country. As immigrants, we come to this country looking for a better life quality and opportunities of success. We are hardworking people who are willing to get the best by doing it right. “Si se puede!”, Yes we can!. Without us this country would be different and that’s what should keep us motivated to obtain the right of being recognized as an important group in this country. As Hispanics, we should stand together and protest for this right. I’ll be one first ones in the list for this movement because Cesar Chavez’s achievement teached me that we should fight for our rights, even more if the only thing we want is a better life quality and success for our future.