Cesar Chavez followed Dr King’s career since the 1950s Montgomery bus boycott. Whenever newspapers carried accounts of #MLK battles, the stories "would jump out of the pages at me," Cesar said. MLK reaffirmed Cesar's commitment to nonviolent struggle & inspired UFW's boycotts. 1/
Although the two never met, they corresponded. Dr. King preached that genuine equality was not possible without economic equality. "What does it profit a man to be able to eat at an integrated lunch counter if he doesn't have enough money to buy a hamburger?" #MLK declared. 2/
Only one month before his death, Dr. King joined in solidarity by sending a telegram to Cesar, who was then fasting for 25 days in Delano CA, to rededicate his farm workers' movement to the principles of nonviolence practiced by #MLK and Gandhi. 3/
In Sept, '66, #MLK sent a telegram to Cesar: You & your valiant fellow workers have demonstrated your commitment to righting grievous wrongs forced upon exploited people. We are together w/you in spirit & in determination that our dreams for a better tomorrow will be realized. 4/
Cesar Chavez was in Sacramento, CA campaigning for Sen. Robert F. Kennedy's presidential drive, when it was announced that Dr. King had been shot. "The spirit doesn't die," Cesar said. "The ideas remain. We study them and apply them and they're alive." 5/
The solidarity between our movements has continued. Throughout the 1970s, Coretta Scott King, widow of #MLK marched and rallied with Chavez for farmworkers' rights, including being there when Cesar began his 2nd 24 day public fast in Phoenix AZ in 1972. 6/
And this summer @officialmlk3 marched w/farmworkers in support of #AB2183 saying: "The unfairness of what it is to have someone working so many hours is almost equivalent to what slavery was. We must all stand up to ensure farm workers are treated fairly & with dignity." 7/
On #MLKDay2023 the UFW commemorates the legacy of a courageous hero. Read how Cesar Chavez talked about #MLK and his legacy of non-violence that inspired the farm worker movement in this 1978 article, "He Showed Us The Way."
ufw.org/heshowedusthew…
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