Cesar Chavez’s grandson Alejandro Chavez on his grandfather’s legacy and why

So they got the family together and voted on if they were going to do this. My grandfather laid it out in simple terms — not like, “Oh, are we going to move?” — but he said we can’t help people here (in East Los Angeles). You’re talking about your tios (uncles), your tias (aunts), your primos (cousins) suffering in the fields and people you don’t know who are suffering. If we want to help, we have to be willing to give up what we have. Now, did everyone vote the same way? No, but the sentiment of the heart of the family was there, and so I think that was only possible by having the faith that you get in working with a father, a priest, a rabbi, what have you.

Ultimately, his thing was that you had faith. What’s having more faith than organizing and registering voters and taking what you believe to the people? What do you need more than 100% faith that it can be done? Most people don’t realize it doesn’t happen without those two separately coming into his life and then him finding a point where they meet. In Fred Ross’ writings, there’s a note on when he met my grandfather. It says, “I think I’ve found the guy I’ve been looking for.”

What are some of the obstacles to voting unique to Latinos and Hispanics today?

IDs are a great one. My legal name on paper is Alejandro Cesario Reyes Chavez, four solid names. My birth certificate didn’t have room for two middle names so they had to hyphenate it. Well, over the years, I’ve got it finally corrected, but it used to be, “Am I Alejandro Chavez? Am I Alejandro Cesario? Am I Alejandro Cesario Chavez? Which one’s the last name?” and so voting was always a challenge. I’d have to vote provisional and then go to the county. That’s a big thing, I think, happens a lot in Latino communities. We give four names, sometimes five.