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Who was César Chávez?

César Estrada Chávez (1927–1993) was a Mexican American farm worker and labor organizer who inspired thousands of migrant (one who travels from one area to another in search of work) farm workers to improve their lives. When Chávez was ten years old, his family lost their farm because of drought and they became migrant farm workers in California, where large farms depended heavily on temporary labor. Knowing well the uncertain life of migrant laborers, Chávez began his life work—organizing migrant farm workers. In 1962 he founded the National Farm Workers Association (renamed the United Farm Worker ten years later), a union that negotiated labor agreements for migrant workers. In the 1980s, Chávez focused protests against the use of pesticides on crops because he believed these chemicals are dangerous to both farm workers and consumers. He consistently advocated nonviolent methods of protest, such...

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