About This Lesson
Your Viva La Causa package includes a 39-minute video and this accompanying teacher’s guide.
Story of Farmworkers Struggle led by Cesar Chavez
On a warm evening in 1965, hundreds of Mexican farmworkers packed into a church hall in the small farming town of Delano, California. A momentous decision lay before them— should they join a strike against California grape growers started 11 days prior by their Filipino counterparts? Would this improve their appalling working conditions in the fields and help them earn enough to feed their families? The struggle of the farmworkers was about more than wages. It was about respect, justice and equality; it was about pitting the powerless against the powerful. Two thousand workers walked out of the fields. Eventually, tens of thousands more joined the fight. Together they would unite around la causa and demand that their voices be heard. The strike would unfold over five years, testing not just the will of the farmworkers or their bosses in agriculture, but the very morality of the American people and their collective willingness to heed core values of fairness and equality. Viva La Causa tells the story of how the powerless stood up to the powerful and gained their victory, not by violence and weapons, but by their strong will. A dedicated coalition of people from diverse classes, races and religions stood together for justice, proving that the mightiest walls of oppression can be toppled when people are united and their cause is just. The film also serves as a call-to-action, alerting a new generation to issues of worker exploitation that continue to unfold throughout the United States and the world today.
Teacher can order a free kit including a DVD of this film from Teaching Tolerance http://www.tolerance.org/kit/viva-la-causa
I have taught this in my high school classes many time. It was a great resource and my students loved it.