César E. Chávez Legacy Scholarship Fund

César E. Chávez was born on March 31, 1927, in Yuma, Arizona. Growing up in a Mexican-American family of farmworkers, he experienced firsthand the hardships and injustices faced by agricultural laborers. Chávez’s upbringing instilled in him a strong sense of social justice and a desire to improve the working conditions of farmworkers.  

In Yuma, Arizona, Chávez' witnessed his family and other migrant farmworkers struggling to make ends meet while working long hours in harsh conditions for meager wages. These early experiences fueled his determination to fight for the rights of farmworkers and to bring about change in the agricultural industry.

In 1962, César E. Chávez co-founded the National Farm Workers Association (NFWA), which later became the United Farm Workers (UFW) union. The organization aimed to improve the working conditions and wages of farmworkers through collective bargaining and nonviolent protest. Chávez’s leadership and dedication to the cause helped the UFW grow into a powerful force for social change in the agricultural industry.

Chávez believed in the power of grassroots organizing and nonviolent protest as tools for social change. He led boycotts, strikes, and marches to raise awareness of the plight of farmworkers and to pressure growers and government officials to improve labor conditions. Chávez’s commitment to nonviolent resistance inspired thousands of workers and supporters to join the movement and fight for justice and equality in the fields.

The César E. Chávez Legacy Scholarship memorializes his life's work and inspires future generations of migrant youth from Yuma County Arizona to pursue postsecondary education, ensuring that César E. Chávez' legacy endures.