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Caesar Chavez at Fast Breaking Mass 1972
Caesar Chavez at Fast Breaking Mass 1972
Caesar Chavez at Fast Breaking Mass 1972

Caesar Chavez at Fast Breaking Mass 1972

Date6/5/1972
MediumPaper
Dimensions3 x 5 in. (7.6 x 12.7 cm)
ClassificationsDocumentary Artifact
Catalog number2008.11.120
DescriptionBlack and white photo showing aspects of the United Farm Worker's mass in Phoenix to end Chavez's hunger strike. Photo shows a podium edge with farm produce and Chavez seating in a wheelchair as everyone else stands. Joseph Kennedy in a dark suit stands to the left.

Photos 2008.22.96 through 126 all show the mass attended by 5000 people through Arizona and several other states. The event was held at the Del Webb Townhouse on North Central Avenue. It was the end of Cesar Chavez's fast. He had become so weak he had to use a wheelchair. The fast was meant as a call to sacrifice for justice and as a reminder of how much suffering there is among farm workers. An enormous voter registration program and a recall after this event sent the first Mexican Americans and Navajos to the Arizona Legislature. The fast was a response to a law that was quickly shoved through in order to outlaw boycotts and strikes during harvest season.
Status
Not on view