Si, se puede!

César Chávez

Photo by Claire Peterson and Susana Diaz
Exploring the United Farm Workers’ History
http://www.cs.colorado.edu/~13d/systems/agentsheets/
New-Vista/grape-boycott/History.html

 

Last night while watching one of our favorite films, Invictus on a new to us channel called Pilot, which appears to lean towards Biographies,  a commercial came on about a new petition for César Chávez.

I have just signed this Petition and cannot think of a finer person to be the first to be written about on this new Global Culture Blog.

To so many in California, Chávez was a passionate, dedicated civil rights leader quite similar to Gandhi who followed many of Gandhi’s methods of non violent civil disobedience, to achieve his monumental goals for the poor farm workers suffering in silence.

In the end, he did achieve his goals, but it was a very long,  hard struggle.

Here is a link to the Petition, if you believe that this man, should be considered just as important in this country’s history as Columbus and all the others who already have a National Holiday to Honor their existence, then please do sign it.

Here is the takepart Petition:    César Chávez

Californian’s are no longer the only ones aware of the full measure of this man’s life long struggles, they are now joined by millions who have now come to understand why Chavez  is so deserving of this Honor.

For those who are not familiar with this humble civil leader, here is a quite brief biography of César Chávez:

Until his death in 1993, César Chávez was frequently in the

news in California and around the world, as his name

became synonymous with Farm Workers Rights.

César’s early life was hard, as it was for many migrant working families.

As a child, school was difficult, there were many obstacles

and he found it a hostile, negative environment.

Yet, he overcame this and became an inspirational leader

to  migrant farm workers all over the country.

His initial lack of formal education, only through elementary level,

would reverse later in life as he became a passionate reader

 and derived great insight into the lives of leader he admired.

Chávez disliked  any form of violence and in similar pattern

as Gandhi thought that fasting and peaceful protests were

the best way to accomplish the results they were seeking.

His efforts were not always successful,

the big farm owners had tough lawyers whose lives

were devoted to defeating Chávez and his supporters.

The Hollywood community rallied behind César because

he spoke for those who had not a single hope of being heard.

To the rich farm owners, he was a thorn in their sides,

someone who had to be dealt with and kept down.

His life’s work became a beacon for the millions of

poor migrants who wanted just a chance at a decent life.

Chávez showed those who worked for little or nothing,

that there could be a better way of living and working.

César Chávez  gave them hope.

Si, se puede!

 

tahtonka, in the beginning~

 
My favorite place on Earth, Yellowstone and the Tetons.

 

Greetings~

This is a quite personal Blog concerning my passion for the world’s people and places, or to be more accurately defined, Global Culture.

My education was in Anthropology and much of what you will find here shall be conversations regarding the relevant past, present or future of Cultural Issues and News from around our Globe.

For those who may not be familiar with the word tahtonka, it is Lakota for Buffalo or Bison.

The first time that I heard the word, was when it was used in the movie Dances with Wolves, then a few years later, I studied the Lakota people at CSUN.

But the word did not truly reach its full meaning until seeing first hand, the ancestral importance it held for the Lakota people in South Dakota.

For hundreds of years, before the invasion of their homelands, the Buffalo/Bison had been the central part of their Culture.

They depended on it in every aspect of their lives and when it was taken from them by the invaders and our own US Government, they were lost.

Then being forced onto Reservations was the final insult to a once vital and vibrant people, who became only a shadowy reflection of what they had once been.

In 1990, I embarked on my first real journey alone,  driving from just outside of Los Angeles to the Pine Ridge Reservation in South Dakota.

I got absolutely no moral support in this adventure from my instructors at school, nor from any of my family.

They were all united in their complete and total opposition to this “dangerous journey”  for a woman to be taking all alone!

But it was something that I felt compelled to do.

Lectures, books and movies can only educate and define just so much, they do not tell you the true story.

I needed to see for myself about what I had studied.

It turned out to be a revelation that I was not fully prepared for at the time.

The conditions at Pine Ridge were often referred to as what is commonly called, Third World  and as it turned out, this was not to be an exaggeration.

Until you experience an Indian Reservation personally, you could not accurately comprehend the living conditions that Native People there must endure daily.

Deplorable comes to mind.

So, now with a bit of background of what I am about,  this begins a new form of exploration for me, writing a Blog about Global Culture.

As this Blog will not be about topics that are normally given great media or public attention, I do not anticipate many likes, hits or followers, however, I will be quite to content just to put it out there and occasionally receive some sort of feedback from those happen upon it.

It is my hope, that you may find this Blog dedicated to Global Culture, a worthy, educational, experience~