Grade Level: Grade Eleven Unit of Study
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César Chávez, Organizes the Farm Workers Association - Act I, Scene I “The House Meeting" Grade Level: Grade Eleven Unit of Study: Post World War II - Domestic Issues, Civil Rights Movement, and Latino Movement History - Social Science Standard: 11.10 Students analyze the development of federal civil rights and voting rights. 11.10.5 Discuss the diffusion of the civil rights movement of African Americans from the churches of the rural South and the urban North, including the resistance to racial desegregation in Little Rock and Birmingham, and how the advances influenced the agendas, strategies, and effectiveness of the quests of Native Americans, Asian Americans, and Hispanic Americans for civil rights and equal opportunities.
On March 31, 1962, César E. Chávez resigned as National Director of the Community Service Organization and moved with his wife and family to Delano, California where he began organizing farm workers. He had spent ten years m California organizing people in the cities of San Jose, Oakland, Madera, Bakersfield, and Hanford, learning and developing techniques to help people fight for civil rights, equal opportunities and human dignity. When the CSO leadership refused to venture out from organizing urban communities into organizing farm workers, César left the CSO and struck out on his own. He spent six months traveling up and down the agricultural cornucopia of California known as the San Joaquin Valley, talking to farm workers where ever he could and surveying them to find out their problems, concerns and desires. His most effective technique in this initial stage of organizing was the use of house meetings. Fred Ross recruited César to join the CSO in 1952, when Ross had approached César and asked him to hold a house meeting in his home. Learning from Ross’ experience César knew that one of the most effective ways of talking to and organizing workers was through house meetings. In the summer of 1962 César held house meetings in and around Delano almost every night for two months. The idea of house meetings was to identify potential leaders in the barrios or colonias, and to ask them if they would invite a few of their friends into their home so César could talk to them about farm worker problems. He had learned that people feel more comfortable in their own homes surrounded by friends and family. It was dangerous to speak out in public meetings because word could get around, and if their employers suspected them of being "trouble makers", they would be fired. In familiar and secure surroundings, they were more willing to open up and discuss the issues that were important to farm workers. César was a good listener, and the fact that he spoke Spanish and had first hand experience as a farm worker helped him achieve success as an organizer. He told the men and women at the house meetings that together they could form an association of farm workers to address their concerns. Explaining that they could set up a service center to help people solve their problems and maybe a credit union for short-term loans, César gained their interest. Before the meetings ended, he would hand out several surveys, 3x5 self-addressed cards, to everyone, and asked them to pass them out to their friends and co-workers. Finally, he asked if any of those present would be willing to hold a similar house meeting in their home. César held hundreds of these meetings recruiting members for a Farm Workers' Association and searching for a few committed people who would become organizers. After engaging in this grass roots organizing for six months, César, Richard and Manuel Chávez, Dolores Huerta, Gilbert Padilla, and the other organizers were ready to hold the first convention of the new association. On Sunday September 30, 1962, in Fresno, California, 150 farm worker delegates and their families met to formally organize the National Farm Workers Association. Within a few years, the NFWA became the United Farm Workers, the first successful union of farm workers in American history. Focus Question: How did César E. Chávez first organize farm workers into what would become the United Farm Workers? Expected Learning Outcomes: Students will explain the use of house meetings as an organizing technique and the dedication, perseverance and sacrifice that César E. Chávez exhibited in founding the National Farm Workers Association. Students will identify the problems of California's farm workers and the achievements of the United Farm Workers.
citizenship civic action civil rights commitment community Democracy empowerment grass-roots decision-making leadership organization participation service social change Essential Vocabulary:
Primary Sources: List of United Farm Worker Achievements under César E. Chávez UFW Web site. Chapter 2 of The Fight in the Fields César Chávez and the Farm Workers' Movement by Susan Ferriss and Ricardo Sandoval Prologue of César Chávez Autobiography of La Causa by Jacques E Levy Visuals: The following pictures can be found in the book titled The Fight in the Fields César Chávez and the Farm Worker's Movement by Susan Ferriss and Ricardo Sandoval.
ProcedureMotivation: Show brief segment of the video Eyes on the Prize (or some other similar Civil Rights Movement video) depicting the initial organizing meetings for the bus boycott at the First Baptist Church in Montgomery, Alabama. Discuss how the church was a unifying force within the African American community and a natural center for organizing people. The Southern Christian Leadership Conference and the civil rights movement had its nucleus there, and from there Martin Luther King, Jr. rose to become the spokesman for freedom, justice, and dignity for African Americans. Next, point out that Latino farm workers in 1962 did not have an equivalent of the NAACP, nor did they have a community-based church to serve as springboard in their struggle for civil rights, equal opportunity and human dignity. There was no Latina Rosa Parks to serve as a catalyst in Delano, California in the summer of 1962. One man; one small, soft-spoken man with compassion and perseverance, began organizing what was to become the farm workers movement or La Causa. His name was César E. Chávez. How did he succeed where all others before him had faded? How did he organize the National Farm Workers Association with almost no money and no institutional support? The answer is that he slowly built a grassroots organization primarily by holding hundreds of small house meetings throughout the San Joaquin valley. Making Connections: Students must understand that the 1960s was a period of social protest and change. The civil rights movement had given rise to a variety of similar movements for women's rights, Latino rights, Native American rights, and the Anti-war movement. César E. Chávez became one of the national leaders for civil rights and the rights of farm workers. Vocabulary Activities: Words on the vocabulary list are from the readings provided within this lesson. Provide each student with the words and definitions. Have students read the vocabulary list and briefly discuss the words, putting them into historical context of the Latino community during the 1950s and 1960s. When students have read the three handouts, review the vocabulary terms and answer questions as necessary. Guided Instruction: First Day
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Integrating Language: Students will read both primary and secondary sources; they will be writing their own scripts of a play; they will be speaking their part and discussing questions in class; and they will be listening to the house meeting scenes performed by other groups. Enrichment: Students could use the computer lab to research César E. Chávez, the United Farm Workers, problems of farm workers or laws related to farm labor issues. They could also read Conquering Goliath César Chávez at the Beginning by Fred Ross, 144 pages Assessment: Use the rubric provided to evaluate students' work. Service Learning: Students can better understand how community organizations can help people find solutions to their problems. As César E. Chávez said, “It is my deepest belief that only by giving our lives do we find life.” He also said, "We can choose to use our lives for others to bring about a better and more just world for our children.” His motto was 'Si se puede!” (Yes we can!) With these thoughts in mind, ask students to volunteer in community service organizations that provide help for the needy. Students could organize César E Chávez Service Clubs at their schools, giving students the opportunity to engage in service learning. Reflection on Student Learning:Students should write a short reflection piece on the idea of positive thinking and the idea of yes we (they) can. Does this attitude really help overcome adversity? Why or why not?DAY 2 PROGRESS REPORT César E. Chávez Organizes the Farm Workers Association Act 1, Scene I “The House- Meeting” Period ____________ Director ____________________________ Recorder ___________________________ HOMEWORK
Brief Statement of your group's progress: Question or problems
Act I, Scene I "The House-Meeting” Group # ASSIGNMENTS
Directory: ModelCurriculum -> Teachers -> Lessons Lessons -> Lesson Title: The ufw vs a Traditional Union Grade Level Lessons -> Lesson Title: César E. Chávez: An Instrument of Change in a Democracy Grade Level Lessons -> Grade Level: Grade Five Lesson 1 Unit of Study Lessons -> Lesson Title: César Chávez, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., and Civil Rights Grade Level Lessons -> Lesson Title: Immigration: When did your family arrive? Grade Level Lessons -> Lesson Title: Exercising One's Rights as a Citizen Grade Level Lessons -> U. S. History: a new Nation History-Social Science Standard Lessons -> Lesson Title: Remember the Ladies- abigail Adams and Dolores Huerta Grade Level Download 79.03 Kb. Share with your friends:
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