They were ordinary people living ordinary lives, until one singular sensation of circumstances conspired with fate to make them UNSUNG HEROES OF HISPANIC HERITAGE MONTH
The effort to organize African-American, Filipino-American and Mexican-American farmworkers in California’s Central Valley was an uphill battle in 1964. Fledgling union leader Cesar Chavez thought organizing a boycott of a particular crop might make a good focus for his efforts and he settled on rutabagas, which were just coming into season.
Fellow organizer “Uncle” Ray Moss (1918-1975) liked Chavez’s strategy, but felt a rutabaga boycott was a tactical mistake, since WTF are they anyhow, and who would miss them? After several all-night arguments, Moss convinced Chavez to switch crops, and the fabled Table Grape Boycott — which led to the victories of the United Farm Workers — was born.
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Tio Ray Moss photo via Wikimedia Commons.