A Song for Cesar
Preview: 09/29/2023 | 1m 52sVideo has Closed Captions
See how Cesar Chavez and the farmworkers’ movement were influenced by music and the arts.
Trace the life and legacy of labor activist Cesar Chavez. Through interviews with Maya Angelou, Joan Baez, Carlos Santana and more, see how music and the arts were instrumental to the success of the farmworkers’ movement Chavez helped found.
Support for American Masters is provided by the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, AARP, Rosalind P. Walter Foundation, Judith and Burton Resnick, Blanche and Hayward Cirker Charitable Lead Annuity Trust, Koo...
A Song for Cesar
Preview: 09/29/2023 | 1m 52sVideo has Closed Captions
Trace the life and legacy of labor activist Cesar Chavez. Through interviews with Maya Angelou, Joan Baez, Carlos Santana and more, see how music and the arts were instrumental to the success of the farmworkers’ movement Chavez helped found.
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Learn Moreabout PBS online sponsorship(farmworkers chanting) ♪ As I walk along this land ♪ ♪ I wonder what will be ♪ ♪ Will I be forever searching ♪ ♪ Will my soul be free ♪ - We didn't know who we were.
We were seeking identity.
Cesar Chavez gave us that.
♪ Will my children reach the promise of equality ♪ - I think the deciding factor in whether you're gonna make real social change or not is risk.
Are you willing to take a risk?
And the farm workers took the risks.
(farmworkers shouting in Spanish) ♪ As I walk along this land I wonder what I'll see ♪ ♪ See my brothers struggling ♪ ♪ Struggling to be free ♪ - You're either part of the problem or a part of the solution, ain't no in between.
♪ Will I be forever young ♪ ♪ And will my soul be free ♪ - We said somewhere along the line beware of a movement that sings.
- Oh man, I was so excited.
Musicians were excited.
The people were excited.
- Even though we don't know where this journey is going to end, we know that this journey is going to be successful even if it takes a long time to get there.
- Art was integral to this project right from the very beginning because artists are naturally drawn to those causes that are pure.
They're naturally drawn.
Whether they're writers, or they're musicians, or they're actors, or they're poets, or they're painters.
Naturally they're drawn to that.
- Senor Chavez, his dreams, his hopes, his desires, his work will live as long as we who are alive, keep it alive.
(empowering music)
Cesar Chavez's love of jazz and pachuco culture
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Civil rights activist Cesar Chavez expressed an interest in music from an early age. (3m 27s)
How the farmworkers’ movement used concerts to fundraise
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Jim Cassell organized concerts as fundraisers for the farmworkers’ movement. (3m 40s)
The music of America’s farmworkers
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Daniel Valdez created a bolero song from the poem "Brown-Eyed Children of the Sun." (3m 10s)
Peaceful protest with Joan Baez
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Singer Joan Baez was one of the peaceful protesters of the farmworkers’ movement. (2m 31s)
Providing Support for PBS.org
Learn Moreabout PBS online sponsorship
Support for American Masters is provided by the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, AARP, Rosalind P. Walter Foundation, Judith and Burton Resnick, Blanche and Hayward Cirker Charitable Lead Annuity Trust, Koo...