Fred Ross - Cesar Chavez, Dolores Huerta, and Fred Ross Jr.

Cesar Chavez, Dolores Huerta, and Fred Ross Jr.

Fred Ross Sr. trained a myriad of successful organizers during his lifetime. The most renowned of these organizers are Cesar Chavez, Dolores Huerta, and his son, Fred Ross Jr. Ross recruited Cesar while he was in San Jose; at first when Ross Sr. visited Chavez at his home, he was doubtful of his intentions. However, he soon saw that Ross was a man whose life calling was to help people in need. Chavez believed in Ross’s technique and after their first house meeting, he accepted Ross’s offer to join the CSO. That night, Ross wrote in his journal, “I think I found the guy I’m looking for.” Ross continued to be an advisor and confidant to Chavez for the remainder of his life even when Chavez split from the CSO and began his own union. Another young and intelligent organizer that Ross recruited was Dolores Huerta. She met him in Fresno in 1955. He showed her pictures of mobilized workers in Los Angeles and she knew she wanted to be a part of this organization. She began working with CSO in Stockton, helping run civic and educational programs. She soon met Chavez and so began their lifelong friendship and coalition to organize farmworkers. When Chavez decided to form his own union, the UFW, Huerta was shocked. However, “when the initial shock wore off, I thought it was exciting,” said Huerta. Huerta would be a main organizer and leader in the UFW until the late 1980s. Fred Ross’s son, Fred Ross Jr., followed in his footsteps by becoming a community organizer. He retained the tactics learned from his father and worked alongside both Chavez and Huerta. Ross Jr. played a large role in the Active Citizenship campaign, Gallo march, Salvadorian coffee boycott, and other UFW events. Ross Jr.’s legacy remains in the national organization he began with the help of his father, Neighbor to Neighbor. Neighbor to Neighbor was founded in 1986 to recruit and train organizers to put political pressure on Congress to stop U.S. military aid to right wing forces in Central America. Neighbor to Neighbor employed similar techniques to the UFW and provided a vital training ground for young activists to become the key organizers in the mid-to-late 1980s.