Very few Latinos have achieved the national prominence which C�sar Ch�vez and his United Farm Workers Union enjoyed at their height in the 1960's and 70's. His struggle against giant agricultural combines to provide fair wages and safe working conditions epitomized the American ideal of the little guy taking on the big guy.

Just as the aftermath of the Second World War sowed the seeds of the Civil Rights movement of the late 1950's and 60's, Mr. Ch�vez' struggle allowed the pent-up frustration which many Latinos had felt to finally reach the surface. These feelings eventually took the form of walkouts and sit-ins, demanding better educational facilities and opportunities for young Latinos.

Without C�sar Ch�vez, it is doubtful that the great awakening in the Mexican-American community would have occurred and there would be no Henry G. Cisneros, no Gary Soto and no Edward James Olmos. My generation and those which follow owe a debt of gratitude to Mr. Ch�vez for showing us and the rest of America that there is more than one ethnic minority willing to go the distance to fight for what is rightfully theirs.