César Chávez influenced leaders, school children right here in Fort Worth. Here’s how

Lee Saldivar, Fort Worth LULAC chapter 4743 president, met César Chávez on a 19-mile protest march from Austin to New Braunfels in the 1970s.

The United Farm Workers Union sought Texas support for its fight with California grape growers to negotiate better wages, safer worker conditions, and improved benefits.

Saldivar knew firsthand the hard life of a migrant worker since he and his 11-member family worked many cotton, okra, and broomcorn fields across Texas as he was growing up. His father Sebastian Saldivar earned $5 a day as the entire family worked sunrise to sunset and slept in barns, on the ground, in the woods, or anywhere close to the work. Chávez resembled Sebastian in how he combed his hair, his walk, and his diplomatic talk.

Saldivar told Chávez he agreed with his mission to improve the farm workers’ lives, but disagreed with his fasting. The labor leader answered that he sacrificed to strengthen the union’s commitment to non-violent protest.

On June 22, 1970, Louis Melendez asked the Fort Worth City Council to pass a resolution advocating the purchase of only grapes with the United Farm Worker eagle symbol. Kenneth W. Ryker spoke against the resolution, saying it was a communist tactic to control “our entire food supply.” Mayor Stovall informed Melendez to take his concerns to the National Labor Relations Board.

Lon Burnam, social justice advocate and ex-Texas legislator, met Chávez on several visits to the DFW area. At a fundraiser at Billie Dolenz’s home on Mistletoe Drive, on Sept. 11, 1985, Chávez spoke to supporters about the plight of farm workers who were showered by rampant pesticide spraying. He told of campesina women giving birth to children with birth defects, the average 49-year farm worker life span, and lack of medical care.

For a national labor leader, Chávez appeared reserved and soft spoken, but eloquently explained to the gathering the economic and political power of agribusiness and its willingness to exploit farm workers. To bring the reluctant growers to the negotiating table, the UFW promoted an international grape boycott. They reasoned while the growers might not care about their workers, they did value profits.

Burnam witnessed local Latinos become activated by Chávez’s words and actions. Activists were emboldened to run for office, speak at city council meetings, and school boards. Burnam sought Chávez’s counsel about seeking a political seat in a Hispanic dominant district. Chávez told him the color of his heart was more important than his skin shade.

As a state legislator in 1999, Burnam sponsored a bus that took 33 Fort Worth and Arlington residents to an Austin march in support of a bill to make an optional César Chávez holiday for state employees. Michael Null-Miner of Arlington said that despite his broken legs, which were in casts, he was going to walk. He endured the pain, recognizing that, “César had many struggles; mine are minor.”

Dominican priest Carmen Mele O.P., sat behind Chávez on the stairs of the Dolenz gathering. He recalled Chávez impressed the audience with his congenial persona and eloquence. In his estimate, Chávez was a symbol of social justice and had outgrown his labor or Mexican American leader stature.

Mele shared that California bishops at that time didn’t openly support the UFW. Many of the grower families were long-time Catholics of influence. After Chávez’s death on April 23, 1993, Mele attended a special Mass for him. He said, “To have the opportunity to celebrate this real hero, as I said, for the whole country, as a symbol for what makes America great ... giving people the opportunities to work and to make a decent living. That was his passion on behalf of the farm workers, that they have a decent life.”

In 1991, Eddie Arellano entered his third-grade bilingual class at Washington Heights Elementary School in a 10-minute, skit writing contest. The students, choosing to write about the UFW struggle, researched and wrote a play that was performed at the Botanic Garden. After winning first place, they competed at the regional level at the University of Texas at Arlington and won first place again. Their University of North Texas college pen pals invited the troupe to perform before Chávez, who was scheduled to appear at the campus.

Performing in a UNT classroom, the 8-year-old students were awed to see their hero in the flesh. They dressed in farm worker clothes and dramatized the campesinos’ struggle for decent work conditions. Chávez praised them for their skills to capture the UFW’s challenges in a short time frame. His uplifting words imbued pride and motivation to pursue their bilingual studies.

Arellano currently teaches a first-grade dual language class at Dolores Huerta Elementary School. After 35 years in FWISD, he realizes the importance of encouraging dual language students to participate in science, math, and history fairs to gain confidence and pride. He also believes, “The story of César Chávez should be taught in history books, including ... Latino role models in our community, in our nation that have contributed to the United States.”

Chávez probably would have echoed with a raised union fist, “Sí se puede/Yes we can.”

Author Richard J. Gonzales writes and speaks about Fort Worth, national and international Latino history.