Richard Chavez dies at 81; brother of Cesar Chavez

[UrbScotty]

Source: Los Angeles Times

Richard Chavez, who helped his older brother, legendary labor organizer Cesar Chavez, build the United Farm Workers into a force in state politics and agriculture, died Wednesday. He was 81.

Chavez died from complications following surgery in a Bakersfield hospital, the UFW announced.

"He was one of those little-known giants within the movement. He was extremely effective," Arturo Rodriguez, the union's president, said Wednesday in an interview with The Times.

Born on his family's farm near Yuma, Ariz., in November 1929, Chavez was a migrant worker as a child growing up in the Great Depression. He left the fields to become a union carpenter in San Jose, then left his trade to help his brother organize farm workers in the early 1960s.

Read more: http://www.latimes.com/news/obituaries/la-me-richard-chavez-20110728,0,3713759.story

[Curtis]

1. I was lucky enough to have become friends with both

of these men. It's sad to see such historic icons pass away :(

[bitchkitty]

2. Deepest sympathy for your loss.

We need more men like these.

[lunatica]

3. Thank you to the Chavez brothers for their life's work

We have all benefited because of it. They're true American heroes.

UC Berkeley, where I work actually has a building named after Cesar Chavez. Not all buildings are named after rich people and big donors.

[Ishoutandscream2]

4. Watched RFK's last speech on that fateful night in LA in 1968

One of the people he thanked was Cesar Chavez. As the person posted above, it is difficult to lose our heroic icons.