名人轶事:Cesar Chavez Organized the First Successful Farm Worker

Cesar Chavez Organized the First Successful Farm Workers Union in America

Written by Robert Brumfield

(MUSIC)

VOICE ONE:

I’m Nicole Nichols.

VOICE TWO:

And I’m Steve Ember with the VOA Special English Program, People in America.

Today we tell about one of the great labor¹ activists³, Cesar Chavez. He

organized the first successful farm workers union in American history.

(MUSIC)

VOICE ONE:

Cesar Chavez      

Cesar Chavez was born on a small farm near Yuma, Arizona in nineteen twenty-

seven. In the late nineteenth century, Cesario Chavez, Cesar’s grandfather,

had started the Chavez family farm after escaping slavery on a Mexican farm.

Cesar Chavez spent his earliest years on this farm. When he was ten years old,

however, the economic conditions of the Great Depression forced his parents to

give up the family farm. He then became a migrant farm worker along with the

rest of his family.  

The Chavez family joined thousands of other farm workers who traveled around

the state of California to harvest crops for farm owners. They traveled from

place to place to harvest grapes, lettuce⁴, beets⁵ and many other crops. They

worked very hard and received little pay. These migrant workers had no

permanent homes. They lived in dirty, crowded camps. They had no bathrooms,

electricity or running water. Like the Chavez family, most of them came from

Mexico.

VOICE TWO:

Because his family traveled from place to place, Cesar Chavez attended more

than thirty schools as a child. He learned to read and write from his

grandmother. Mama Tella also taught him about the Catholic⁶ religion. Religion

later became an important tool for Mister Chavez. He used religion to organize

Mexican farm workers who were Catholic.

Cesar’s mother, Juana, taught him much about the importance of leading a non

-violent life. His mother was one of the greatest influences on his use of

non-violent methods to organize farm workers. His other influences were the

Indian activist² Mahatma Gandhi and American civil rights leader Martin Luther

King, Junior.

Mister Chavez said his real education began when he met the Catholic leader

Father Donald McDonnell. Cesar Chavez learned about the economics⁷ of farm

workers from the priest⁸. He also learned about Gandhi’s nonviolent political

actions as well as those of other great nonviolent leaders throughout history.

     

VOICE ONE:

In nineteen forty-eight, Mister Chavez married Helena Fabela whom he met while

working in the grape fields in central California. They settled in Sal Si

Puedes. Later, while Mister Chavez worked for little or no money to organize

farm workers, his wife harvested crops. In order to support their eight

children, she worked under the same bad conditions that Mister Chavez was

fighting against.

There were other important influences in his life. In nineteen fifty-two,

Mister Chavez met Fred Ross, an organizer with a workers’ rights group called

the Community Service Organization. Mister Chavez called Mister Ross the best

organizer he ever met. Mister Ross explained how poor people could build

power. Mister Chavez agreed to work for the Community Service Organization.

VOICE TWO: 

Mister Chavez worked for the organization for about ten years. During that

time, he helped more than five hundred thousand Latino citizens to vote. He

also gained old-age retirement⁹ money for fifty thousand Mexican immigrants. He

served as the organization’s national director.

However, in nineteen sixty-two, he left the organization. He wanted to do more

to help farm workers receive higher pay and better working conditions. He left

his well paid job to start organizing farm workers into a union.

Mister Chavez’s work affected¹⁰ many people. For example, the father of

Mexican-American musician Zack de la Rocha spent time working as an art

director for Mister Chavez. Much of the political music of de la Rocha’s

group, Rage Against the Machine, was about workers’ rights, like this song,

“Bomb Track.” 

1 labor   

n.劳动，努力，工作，劳工；分娩；vi.劳动，努力，苦干；vt.详细分析；麻烦

参考例句：

• We are never late in satisfying him for his labor.我们从不延误付给他劳动报酬。
• He was completely spent after two weeks of hard labor.艰苦劳动两周后，他已经疲惫不堪了。

2 activist   

n.活动分子，积极分子

参考例句：

• He's been a trade union activist for many years.多年来他一直是工会的积极分子。
• He is a social activist in our factory.他是我厂的社会活动积极分子。

3 activists   

n.（政治活动的）积极分子，活动家( activist的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• His research work was attacked by animal rights activists . 他的研究受到了动物权益维护者的抨击。
• Party activists with lower middle class pedigrees are numerous. 党的激进分子中有很多出身于中产阶级下层。 来自《简明英汉词典》

4 lettuce   

n.莴苣；生菜

参考例句：

• Get some lettuce and tomatoes so I can make a salad.买些莴苣和西红柿，我好做色拉。
• The lettuce is crisp and cold.莴苣松脆爽口。

5 beets   

甜菜( beet的名词复数 )； 甜菜根； （因愤怒、难堪或觉得热而）脸红

参考例句：

• Beets are Hank's favorite vegetable. 甜菜根是汉克最爱吃的蔬菜。
• In this enlargement, barley, alfalfa, and sugar beets can be differentiated. 在这张放大的照片上，大麦，苜蓿和甜菜都能被区分开。

6 catholic   

adj.天主教的；n.天主教徒

参考例句：

• The Pope is the supreme leader of the Roman Catholic Church.教皇是罗马天主教的最高领袖。
• She was a devoutly Catholic.她是一个虔诚地天主教徒。

7 economics   

n.经济学，经济情况

参考例句：

• He is studying economics,which subject is very important.他正在学习经济学，该学科是很重要的。
• One can't separate politics from economics.不能把政治与经济割裂开来。

8 priest   

n.神父，牧师，司铎，司祭，领导者，神甫；vt.使成为神职人员

参考例句：

• He confessed to a priest that he had sinned.他向神父忏悔他犯了罪。
• The priest visited all the old people in the parish.牧师探望了教区里的所有老人。

9 retirement   

n.退休，退职

参考例句：

• She wanted to enjoy her retirement without being beset by financial worries.她想享受退休生活而不必为金钱担忧。
• I have to put everything away for my retirement.我必须把一切都积蓄起来以便退休后用。

10 affected   

adj.不自然的，假装的

参考例句：

• She showed an affected interest in our subject.她假装对我们的课题感到兴趣。
• His manners are affected.他的态度不自然。

11 boycott   

n./v.(联合)抵制，拒绝参与

参考例句：

• We put the production under a boycott.我们联合抵制该商品。
• The boycott lasts a year until the Victoria board permitsreturn.这个抗争持续了一年直到维多利亚教育局妥协为止。

12 decided   

adj.决定了的，坚决的；明显的，明确的

参考例句：

• This gave them a decided advantage over their opponents.这使他们比对手具有明显的优势。
• There is a decided difference between British and Chinese way of greeting.英国人和中国人打招呼的方式有很明显的区别。

13 brotherhood   

n.兄弟般的关系，手中情谊

参考例句：

• They broke up the brotherhood.他们断绝了兄弟关系。
• They live and work together in complete equality and brotherhood.他们完全平等和兄弟般地在一起生活和工作。

14 investigation   

n.调查，调查研究

参考例句：

• In an investigation,a new fact became known, which told against him.在调查中新发现了一件对他不利的事实。
• He drew the conclusion by building on his own investigation.他根据自己的调查研究作出结论。

15 coalition   

n.结合体，同盟，结合，联合

参考例句：

• The several parties formed a coalition.这几个政党组成了政治联盟。
• Coalition forces take great care to avoid civilian casualties.联盟军队竭尽全力避免造成平民伤亡。

16 boycotts   

（对某事物的）抵制( boycott的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Their methods included boycotts and court action, supplemented by'sit-ins". 他们的主要方法包括联合抵制、法庭起诉，还附带进行静坐抗议。
• Are boycotts for other purposes illegal? 至于用于其它目的的联合抵制行动是否也是非法的呢？

17 civilian   

adj.平民的，民用的，民众的

参考例句：

• There is no reliable information about civilian casualties.关于平民的伤亡还没有确凿的信息。
• He resigned his commission to take up a civilian job.他辞去军职而从事平民工作。