The Flame of Inspiration : A labor organizer says Cesar Chavez had stature because he was a liberator of exploited people.

Cesar Chavez’s death means there is more work for all of us to do to continue the fight for jobs, civil rights, just immigration policy, and a safe environment. We must carry the torch that Cesar held through so much adversity and organize from the fields to the inner city.

I met Cesar when I was working with the Service Employees International Union’s Justice for Janitors campaign. I was in Washington, D.C., for a conference, and I heard Cesar was in town to speak so I took a cab across town to see him.

I was nervous about walking up to him cold, not having known him, but what tempered that anxiousness was the idea that, as organizers, we were fighting toward the same end. Unlike walking up to a person like a movie star, he had stature because he was a liberator of exploited people, so I anticipated understanding from him.

Right before he was going onstage, I went up to him and introduced myself and asked him if he would come support our hunger strike. He was very warm and open to the idea.

In the middle of the hunger strike week, we found out he would come. That someone with his integrity and credibility was going to come help us in our struggle would do so much to open the eyes of people who might otherwise discount us.

It was a rainy Sunday, and we were going to break the fast in the San Jose parish where I grew up. (But) we had been discussing the idea that, if enough interest was generated, we would extend the fast. The church was packed with people participating in the fast and others who just came to hear Cesar speak.

After he spoke about standing firm in the face of exploitative forces, we got 30 new people to participate in the fast. He breathed life into our movement. Because of his message, we stayed on Apple’s front lawn for two more weeks. His participation created so much visibility that Apple encouraged their contractor to go union.

My view of Cesar as a leader is less focused on him as an individual, (and more on) what he symbolizes as a fighter. We should view his life as one to emulate. In society we have what’s known as the “great man” view of history. Cesar was a great, visionary and brilliant man but we need to study his life, and others who give their lives for justice, and conclude that, if we lived like that we could create a better, more just society. He’s a constant reminder of what can be done.

When I heard on the radio that he had passed away, I was with another organizer and we both started to cry. But he’s influenced the lives of so many millions of people that I know his spirit will live on in our struggles.