Many people can be your Hispanic role model. Not just because of the way they sing, dance, or how successful their career is. What does your role model mean to you? Are they a good person and how have they contributed to society? I’ll give you an example of a role model, but not just any role model. This is my role model, Cesar Chavez. A Civil Rights activist, he won the Presidential Medal of Freedom, which is the highest civilian honor in the nation and founded the NFWA (National Farm Workers Association) with just 10 members. Cesar was an inspirational and hard working man before he died at 66 years of age. He changed the world for the better. He was known for fighting for the increase in farmer wages and labor laws, and he stopped at nothing to fight for what he loved. Cesar did so much for farmers like building retirement homes, built multi-family and home ownership communities for farm workers and for others who were poor and didn’t have a good source of income. As you can see, he did what he thought was the right thing and he did it by putting the work and effort into it to see it come to fruition. As he said himself, “Si se puede!”, meaning “Yes, it can be done!”.

Mr. Cesar Chavez deserves to be valued and to be recognized and he deserved the Presidential Medal of Freedom award. Cesar changed the world at large. In order to increase farmers wages and pass labor laws, he applied boycotts to major labor-management disputes. He gathered millions of people for the farm workers’ cause, which in turn, caused the governor of California, Jerry Brown to pass the landmark Agricultural Labor Relations Act of 1975. This was the first and last law in the nation which let farm workers have the right to organize and negotiate with employers. His work was so groundbreaking that he has many public places named after him like schools, parks, libraries, streets, etc. He has also given many speeches and has written many important documents. His voice and the things he said were moving and powerful. His points were very clear and he got his point across. He was there for his people through and through, and in one of his speeches he says, “All my life, I have been driven by one dream, one goal, one vision: To overthrow a farm labor system in this nation which treats farm workers as if they were not important human beings.”

He didn’t have much growing up, and what little of what he had was taken away from him at a young age. Cesar’s story began when he was born on March 31, 1927 and raised in Yuma, Arizona. He lived there until his land was sold to another buyer after an agreement with the land owner to buy 80 acres of land was broken. That day was the day that Cesar learned about the injustice against farmers like him and never ever forgot it. He started to step up when he got older. Cesar became very hardworking, and he showed that by doing quite  literally everything he did. He led peaceful protests, he got a landmark passed in California which is the only law that allows farmers to do what they please with their land and crops, he organized communities like CSO (Community Service Organization) and the NFWA (Nation Farm Workers Association), bought affordable housing for poor families and farmers alike, and so much more. Mr. Chavez has inspired me to do what I please, with his motto saying “Si se puede!”. He’s saying that you can do anything, and as long as you put your mind to it, it will come to fruition. He inspires me to be caring to others and to always help others in need. I don’t have to be exactly like him, but he taught me to be helpful in some way and to not just stand by when you know something is wrong and not say or do anything. He isn’t just an inspiration to me, but the whole world. He did everything in his power to help those in need because he was once in the same situation too, and he helped others significantly. He got awards, laws passed, he got people homes, created organizations for those in need, and he saw his dream to help others come true.

Cesar Estrada Chavez is an inspiration and an example of what the world needs for society– someone who would be there for anybody in need, understands the problems of others and fix it for them. For him, it was the farmers and getting labor laws passed because after what happened with his family, he couldn’t just stand by. He didn’t just help farmers, but others who were poor. Cesar is an example of an inspirational, hardworking, caring, kind soul who went out of his way to help in any way. I explained who my role model was and what he meant to me. Now, I want to know, who’s your role model?