Existing comment:
Helen Chavez, 1928-2016
Robert F. Kennedy, 1925-1968
Cesar Chavez, 1927-1993
On March 10, 1968, Senator Robert Kennedy visited the small, grape-growing town of Delano, California, to attend an outdoor "Mass of Thanksgiving" for Cesar Chavez, president of the United Farm Workers movement. More than six thousand migrant workers attended in support of Chavez, who was ending a twenty-five-day fast for non-violence. The grape growers were becoming frustrated in their efforts to organize a union to improve wages and working conditions. Kennedy was there to show his support and to be their chief spokesperson back in Washington, DC. He is shown in this photograph sharing a piece of bread with Chavez whose wife, Helen Chavez, sits on Kennedy's right.
Richard Darby, reproduction of 1968 photograph |