Recently, it became evident that one of the most important months of the year was steadily approaching, Hispanic Heritage Month.
The month of celebration began this year on Friday, September 15. But on this glorious Thursday, the morning of the 14th, one of my students decided it was time to celebrate early.
With banda blaring from his tiny iPhone speakers, snakeskin botas slapped on his feet, and the Mexico bandera garnered around his shoulders like a cape, my agriculture education student, Enrique, wasn’t going to let anyone rain on the beginning of one of his favorite months of the year. Not even at 8 a.m., on a Thursday morning, in his Agriculture Science and Chemistry class.
Even after letting Enrique know he was one day earlier than he thought, he didn’t stay defeated for long. His joy and love for his family’s country and culture remained branded on him throughout the day; reminding us all at the high school to be prepared Friday to celebrate alongside him.
September 15 to October 15 each year marks Hispanic Heritage Month, a time for Hispanic/Latino people to proudly share, reminisce, and celebrate the pivotal moments of their heritage and the people who made history for the Hispanic/Latino community.
In agriculture, there are many folks who contribute to our industry each day who represent the Hispanic/Latino community. According to the 2017 Census of Agriculture, 71 percemt of the 2.4 million farmworkers in our country are Latino. Of producers who own and operate agriculture businesses, 112,451 are Hispanic producers.
Statistically, the daily impact of our Latino farmworkers is staggering compared to their counterparts. And the narratorial history of the Latino farmworker, manager, and agriculturalist continues to reverberate throughout the years and decades.
This column is dedicated to celebrating the unique stories and leading the readers to explore the history and values of these four influential Hispanic/Latino people in agriculture and agriculture education who have made major impacts on today’s ag industry and the people it serves.
1. Dolores Huerta
Co-founder of the United Farm Workers Association (UFWA), Dolores Huerta fought her way through her own injustices to fight for the rights of others. Herself a farm laborer prior to her activist work, Huerta understood the rough, sexist, and egregiously underpaid experiences of those in the fields and on the farms harvesting and planting in blistering heat and difficult conditions. These experiences led her to direct the famous national grape boycott in California during the early 1960s, numerous protests, work as a lobbyist in the Stockton Community Service Organization (CSO), and operate alongside Cesar Chavez the UFWA — an organization that to date still supports and promotes the rights of farm workers.
Now in her 90s, Dolores has a hand in her own foundation, the Dolores Huerta Foundation, whose mission is to provide equitable resources and fair representation to marginalized individuals and families across the Central Valley of California.
2. Cesar Chavez
Fellow United Farm Workers Association founder, Cesar Chavez was an activist for improved working and living conditions for farm laborers. Chavez himself was a farm laborer prior to his activist work and saw first hand the discrimination and poor working conditions of those who worked in the industry of farm labor.
Chavez organized strikes, led non-violent acts of civil disobedience across the country and most parts of the Central Valley of California, as well as shone a light toward policies to better the livelihood of thousands of farm laborers to come. Chavez was not only the co-founder of UFWA but wielded the organization’s influence to create one of the first farm unions in the country to better working conditions and wages.
3. Eligio de La Garza II
Eligio de La Garza II was the first Chairman of the House of Agriculture Committee from Hispanic descent. He supported reforms to pesticide laws to protect the health of farm laborers, advocated a revamping of a broken farm lending assistance program, and worked outside the mindset of the field — to include the table — passing three farm bills that would improve the nutrition of U.S. residents.
4. Javier Moreno
In 2003, Javier Moreno made history in the National FFA Organization. He was elected as the first Hispanic National FFA president.
Hailing from Puerto Rico, Moreno has become an icon to Hispanic communities in agriculture education across the country; becoming a role model to young Hispanic members as someone who shares their identity and achieved new heights in an organization they may not have perceived as being a place for them prior.
In Moreno’s first National Officer Journal entry, he shared a quote: “To dream anything that you want to dream. That is the beauty of the human mind … to trust yourself to test your limits. That’s the courage to succeed.” And because Moreno had the courage to reach out and aspire for greatness, his inspiration ripples over 20 years later and has impacted thousands of FFA members to follow.
Bre Holbert is a past National FFA President and studied agriculture science and education at California State-Chico. “Two ears to listen is better than one mouth to speak. Two ears allow us to affirm more people, rather than letting our mouth loose to damage people’s story by speaking on behalf of others.”
