Front Row with Chavez at Fast Break
Date6/5/1972
MediumPaper
Dimensions3 x 5 in. (7.6 x 12.7 cm)
ClassificationsDocumentary Artifact
Catalog number2008.11.123
DescriptionBlack and white photo showing aspects of the United Farm Worker's mass in Phoenix to end Chavez's hunger strike. Photo shows Joseph Kennedy in a dark suit, Caesar Chavez in a wheelchair, and Joan Baez in the front row. 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
6/5/1972
6/5/1972
6/5/1972
