The state honors the life of Cesar Chávez today, a civil rights pioneer who fought vigorously for the rights of California farm workers. Cesar Chávez Day, an annual state holiday celebrated on March 31, falls on the activist’s birthday. As co-founder of the United Farm Workers union, Chávez was the force behind the farm worker movement of the 1970s. Through endless boycotts, marches and grueling fasts, Chávez fought to improve the living and working conditions of farm workers, a population that was largely voiceless—and exploited—at the time.
