Author Miriam Pawel will present her book, “The Crusades of Cesar Chavez,” in an online event on Wednesday, March 31, 5 to 6 p.m., sponsored by the Pasadena Public Library.
The event is free to join and will be live on Zoom.
Cesar Chavez, who was born in Yuma, Arizona, to a Mexican-American family, founded a labor union, launched a movement, and inspired a generation. He rose from migrant worker to national icon, becoming one of the great leaders of the 20th century. Two decades after his death, Chavez remains among the most significant Latino figures in U.S. history.
In this first comprehensive biography of Chavez, Pawel offers a searching yet empathetic portrayal, where Chavez emerges as a visionary whose eyes were fixed on a horizon others often could not even see. He was a brilliant strategist who sometimes stumbled, and a canny, streetwise organizer whose pragmatism was often at odds with his elusive, soaring dreams.
Drawing on thousands of documents, hundreds of hours of audiotapes, and scores of interviews, Pawel’s book deepens your understanding of one of Chavez’s most salient qualities: his profound humanity.
Pawel traces Chavez’s remarkable rise as he empowered the poor and disenfranchised and led farmworkers to historic victories over the powerful agriculture industry. With compassion and compelling detail, she narrates the equally dramatic later years when Chavez’s charismatic leadership devolved into a cult of personality, with heartbreaking consequences for the union he had built.
“The Crusades of Cesar Chavez” reveals how this most unlikely American hero ignited one of the greatest social movements in the U.S., and left a legacy that resonates today from California to the White House.
The author is a contributing opinion editor at the New York Times. Her books have been reviewed by several major publications including the Los Angeles Review of Book and the New York Times.
To sign up for Wednesday’s online event, visit www.cityofpasadena.net/
For more information, call (626) 744-4066.
