Cesar Chavez (born César Estrada Chávez (March 31, 1927 – April 23, 1993) was an American farmworker, labor leader and civil rights activist. Chávez started the National Farm Workers Association (NFWA) along with Dolores Huerta. He wanted equal rights for Mexicans working in the United States. This union became the United Farm Workers. He led a boycott against grape companies to gain rights for workers. Chávez used nonviolence to make these changes. Chavez is thought of as one of the leaders in the movement for Chicanos to gain more rights in the late-20th century.
In 1965, Chávez and the NFWA started a strike for grape-pickers in California. At the same time, he asked Americans to boycott grapes from California. In 1970, the migrant workers won their fight for better pay.
He kept working against unfair labor rules. He stopped eating in protest three times because of low pay and bad working conditions. When he died, he was leading another grape boycott to stop the use of pesticides.
