Cesar Estrada Chavez was born on March 31, 1927 on a farm near Yuma, Arizona. His family was originally from Northern Mexico (Chihuahua). His parents Librado and Juana Chavez raised their children in the Gila Valley of Arizona. Cesar's father worked on his ranch and also owned a store and a pool hall. His father wasn't around much because of work, so his mother Juana had a lot of influence on him. His mother taught him to be a non-violent person. She told him to turn the other cheek. Furthermore, she was a very religious person, a good Christian who also taught him to always help the poor. In 1929, during the Great Depression, Cesar's family lost the ranch. The family traveled to Oxnard, California, where they struggled to put a roof over their heads and food on the table. So they moved from city to city in search of work. In 1944 Cesar joined the US Navy as a sailor on a troop transport for 2 years. He joined to avoid being drafted and being forced to fight with real firearms. After finishing he moved to Delano, California. They, one day in a theater sat in a single white section. He didn't budge, so the police sent him to prison and then released him because he hadn't broken any laws. While working in a malt shop called "La Baratita" he entered a grocery store and met his future wife Helen Fabela. At the age of 19 they married and had 8 children. They moved to San Jose and then to Green Field Wear they tried growing their own crops but it didn't work so they moved to Cresent City and back to San Jose. Their Cesar worked as a carpenter and Helen in an agile mill. This wasn't enough for Cesar: he wanted to do something that could make a difference and help the poor. Cesar began holding community meetings and trying to make a difference. A man named Fred Ross told Cesar and hired him to work for the Community Service Organization (CSO). He went on strike against the farmers because they were hiring braceros instead of American citizens. Braceros were people from Mexico who were not American citizens who were bussed to growers to work for them for very low wages, so they had no legal rights.