César Chávez (1927–1993)

Was a labor leader, civil rights activist, and advocate for farmworkers in the United States. Born in Yuma, Arizona, to a Mexican American family, he experienced firsthand the hardships of farm labor after his family lost their land during the Great Depression.

In the 1960s, he co-founded the National Farm Workers Association (later known as the United Farm Workers – UFW), through which he led historic strikes and boycotts to improve working conditions and secure rights for agricultural laborers, particularly in California and the Southwest.

His commitment to nonviolent resistance, inspired by Gandhi and Martin Luther King Jr., along with his tireless fight for social justice, made him an icon of the Chicano movement and the broader civil rights struggle. Although much of his activism took place in California, his Arizona roots deeply shaped his social consciousness from a young age.

He passed away in 1993, but his legacy continues to inspire movements for labor and civil rights in the U.S.