Jacket owned by Cesar Chavez, 1980s-90s
Chavez spent his childhood as a migrant worker in California, an experience that later inspired him to found the United Farm Workers union to fight for agricultural labor reform. In the late 1960s and early 1970s he gained national attention for leading a boycott of California grapes in support of the union. In 1993 Helen Chavez donated this jacket, decorated with the United Farm Workers emblem, to the Smithsonian in honor of her late husband.
See also:
Agricultural Artifacts, Clothing, Latino History, Political Protest, Work History
