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Chapter 4: Religion and La Causa in California, 1962–70

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Chapter 4: Religion and La Causa in California, 1962–70 Chapter 4: Religion and La Causa in California, 1962–70 Th e seventeenth of March First Th ursday morning of Lent César walked from Delano Taking with him his faith. When we arrive in Fresno All the people shout Long live César Chávez And all who follow him. Now we reach Stockton Th e mariachis sing to us Long live César Chávez And the Virgin who guides him. Listen Señor César Chávez Your name is honored On your breast you wear Th e Virgin of Guadalupe. “El Corrido de César Chávez” Several factors led to the 1970 contract between the United Farm Work- ers and the table grape growers of California. Chief among them was the growing self-awareness of Mexican Americans as a political force. Presi- dent Lyndon B. Johnson’s War on Poverty stimulated some of this awaken- ing. Newly established government programs, many of which aggressively recruited workers from minority populations, publicly acknowledged the inequities between Anglos and other racial groups. Th e Chicana/o youth movement played an even greater role in consciousness-raising. First- EBSCO Publishing : eBook Collection (EBSCOhost) - printed on 11/19/2020 8:57 PM via CORNELL COLLEGE AN: 421398 ; Watt, Alan J..; Farm Workers and the Churches : The Movement in California and Texas Copyright 2010. Texas A&M University Press. All rights reserved. May not be reproduced in any form without permission from the publisher, except fair uses permitted under U.S. or applicable copyright law. Account: s7506627.main.ehost A5221.indb 67 1/5/10 3:15:10 PM 68 Chapter 4 generation college students from Kingsville, Texas, to Santa Barbara, California, united in protest against racism in social attitudes, econom- ics, and public policies. More assertive and anti-assimilationist than their parents, they shunned older self-help groups, such as the League of the United Latin American Citizens (LULAC) and the American G.I. Fo- rum. Regarding such entities as “agents of social control,” younger Mexi- can Americans opted for a host of new organizations. Th ese new groups were identifi ed by acronyms such as MAPA, MAYO, and MECHA, and through them Chicanas/os pursued “an ideology of confrontation.” In Denver Rudolfo “Corky” Gonzales rallied others to form a short-lived political bloc. In Northern New Mexico Reies López Tijerina founded a grassroots organization in an attempt to reverse long-standing land-grant judgments. In South Texas the Raza Unida Party emerged from the eff orts of people such as José Ángel Gutiérrez. In East Los Angeles the Brown Berets became a force with which to be reckoned. Another new group, the United Farm Workers Organizing Commit- tee (UFWOC), represented a transition between the older and younger generations of Mexican Americans. Perhaps it was in a classifi cation all its own. Its president, César Chávez, belonged neither to the accommo- dationist, older Latina/o groups nor the newer, unapologetic Chicanas/ os who promoted racial separateness. On the contrary, he welcomed the support of people of various colors, creeds, and backgrounds. In response, liberal politicians such as presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy ad- vocated for the farm workers. So did many other individuals and associa- tions, such as trade unions and civil rights groups. Walter P. Reuther of the United Auto Workers cheered on the Chavistas and underscored his words with generous donations. Martin Luther King Jr. applauded their nonviolent struggle. Anglo students at college campuses across the nation joined La Causa, mailing newsletters and marching in demonstrations. Sympathetic consumers boycotted supermarkets from coast to coast. All of this external support and Chávez’s ability to promote and direct it con- stituted an invaluable and necessary factor in the success of the California farm worker movement. Mainline Protestants and Roman Catholics also participated in this original “rainbow” coalition, to use a popular phrase. In fact, the Califor- nia Migrant Ministry identifi ed so completely with the movement that one labor historian called it “a virtual subsidiary of the union.” Indeed, liberal Anglo Protestants everywhere lent their support. Denominational EBSCOhost - printed on 11/19/2020 8:57 PM via CORNELL COLLEGE. All use subject to https://www.ebsco.com/terms-of-use A5221.indb 68 1/5/10 3:15:10 PM Religion and La Causa 69 executives committed funds. Bishops and other ecclesiastical authori- ties publicly affi rmed La Causa, while pastors and laypeople formulated discussion groups and action committees. Yet a number of Protestants and Catholics opposed the movement. On the whole, pastors and priests refl ected more liberal trends. Younger ministers especially downplayed individual sins, while accusing agribusiness of corporate evil. Politically and socially active, they quickly earned the title “the new breed,” which distinguished them from older and more moderate clergy. Age and edu- cational diff erences likewise revealed fi ssures among Anglo laity. Younger adults who had attended college were more likely to support La Causa than either their parents or working-class peers. Geographical location was another signifi cant factor. Urban Protestants and Catholics in the Midwest, Northeast, and Mid-Atlantic States supported the grape boy- cott, of course, at little or no cost to their own economic well-being. In general, the same held true in West Coast cities such as San Francisco and Los Angeles. Th e vast majority of churches in California’s agricultural heartland, however, condemned César Chávez and the farm workers. Fearing economic, political, and social change, such rank-and-fi le church members often opposed the movement. Th eir ministers sometimes echoed their outcry, but most often remained silent on the controversy. Catho- lics in particular were divided. Many of the grape growers were children and grandchildren of Italian or Slav immigrants. Th ey were not absentee landlords but lived on the farms they operated. Th ese growers belonged to local Catholic parishes and contributed heavily to their budgets. Most of the Mexican American and Filipino American fi eld workers also were Catholics. Further complicating matters, a largely Irish American clergy ministered among this ethnically diverse fl ock. Growers, farm workers, priests, and other Catholics constantly pressured California bishops to choose sides. Prelates offi cially took a neutral stand however, which liber- als and conservatives alike regarded as cowardice or even betrayal. Yet behind closed doors church leaders ultimately pursued negotiations that benefi ted the workers. Th is chapter fi rst outlines the formation, structure, and ethos of the National Farm Workers Association (NFWA). Th en it turns to the crucial roles played by the Migrant Ministry on behalf of the union. Th ird, it examines Chávez’s creative use of Mexican popular religiosity and meth- ods that he borrowed from the civil rights movement. Th e chapter fi nally concludes with the arbitration eff orts of the Roman Catholic Church. EBSCOhost - printed on 11/19/2020 8:57 PM via CORNELL COLLEGE. All use subject to https://www.ebsco.com/terms-of-use A5221.indb 69 1/5/10 3:15:10 PM 70 Chapter 4 The National Farm Workers Association César Chávez had long wished to organize agricultural laborers. Th is de- sire may have stemmed largely from the fact that his own family had once owned a farm in Arizona. An Anglo grower bought it in the late 1930s before Chávez’s father could repay a bank loan. In other words, the fam- ily was cast adrift and forced to join the migrant stream still pouring into California. Th is traumatic event had a lasting eff ect on the then young Chávez. He once reminisced: I missed that house. When I was living there we had all kinds of space—it seemed like the whole world belonged to us. In the cities I couldn’t get used to the fences. We couldn’t play like we used to. On the farm we had a little place where we played, and a big tree in there was ours and we played there. We built bridges and we left everything there and found it in the same place the next morning. After coming of age, Chávez served in the U.S. Navy in World War II. A few years later, in east San Jose, he met Father Donald McDonnell of the Spanish Mission Band and learned about the social teachings of the Catholic Church. He also was introduced to community organizing—via social activist Fred Ross. Chávez joined the staff of the Community Ser- vice Organization (CSO), which focused on issues such as voter registra- tion, neighborhood projects, and legislative action both in local commu- nities and the state capitol in Sacramento. In 1958, in Oxnard, California, Chávez led his fi rst successful strike with farm workers. But the CSO refused to assign him to work permanently with agricultural laborers. So after repeated pleas he resigned in frustration. Still wanting to organize farm workers, he rejected several lucrative job off ers and in 1962 moved to the community of Delano. He chose the town for several reasons: its central location, its population of stable domestic workers, and not least of all the fact that some family members already lived there. Establish- ing it as a base of operations, he visited farm workers throughout the San Joaquin Valley. Employing the proven techniques of community orga- nizing, he drew laborers to house meetings and invited them to share their struggles, disappointments, and dreams. Still, recruitment remained diffi cult, in spite of advertising not as a union per se but as a mutual-aid society. His diligence fi nally paid off , however, and the fi rst convention of EBSCOhost - printed on 11/19/2020 8:57 PM via CORNELL COLLEGE. All use subject to https://www.ebsco.com/terms-of-use A5221.indb 70 1/5/10 3:15:10 PM Religion and La Causa 71 the National Farm Workers Association was held in Fresno, California, on 30 September 1962.
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