One night in America : Robert Kennedy, César Chávez, and the dream of dignity

Chronicles the warm friendship between Robert Kennedy and Cesar Chavez and embraces their bold political vision.Robert Kennedy and César Chávez came from opposite sides of thecountry and from opposite sides of the “tracks” of class and race thatcontinue to divide so many Americans. But they shared a vision that thelives and promise of all Americans were unfulfilled so long as theAmerican dream failed to extend to the desperately poor farm workers,many of Mexican heritage, who worked the fields in California, theSouthwest, and elsewhere. This common bond of desire to help theunderprivileged, whether in rural fields or urban ghettos and barrios, drewChávez and Kennedy together in the 1960s in a brief but inspirationalfriendship. An assassin’s bullet in June 1968 did more than sever afriendship between two devoted family men—it set back the cause forequality for farm workers, for the poor, for Mexican Americans, for us all.Nearly forty years after that tragic night in Los Angeles, the dream thatChávez and Kennedy shared remains unrealized. Arguably, farm workerstoday are even worse off than they were in the 1960s—most farm workersmake less than $10,000 a year and only a lucky few have healthinsurance. In 2005, only 2 percent of California’s field laborers wererepresented by a union. After their brief moment in the national spotlightin the 1960s during the grape boycott, agricultural workers faded frompublic consciousness. Few people eating grapes or a salad today wonder orcare about the wellbeing of the laborer who picked their food, and workerrights have been lost in the shuffle of an increasingly mechanized andglobalized economy.The poverty that Chávez and Kennedy worked to overcome extendedbeyond the fields to the cities and barrios. Building momentum since the1960s, U.S. poverty has proven its resilience. Hurricane Katrina in 2005delivered a tragic reminder that the poor remain among us in urban andrural landscapes, and their numbers are growing.

Winner of the Frances Fuller Victor Award for General Nonfiction at the 2008 Oregon Book Awards. See link below for more information!

Robert Kennedy and César Chávez came from opposite sides of the tracks of race and class that still divide Americans. Both optimists, Kennedy and Chávez shared a common vision of equality. They united in the 1960s to crusade for the rights of migrant farm workers. Farm workers faded from public consciousness following Kennedy’s assassination and Chávez’s early passing. Yet the work of Kennedy and Chávez continues to reverberate in America today.
Bender chronicles their warm friendship and embraces their bold political vision for making the American dream a reality for all. While many books discuss Kennedy or Chávez individually, this is the first book to capture their multifaceted relationship and its relevance to mainstream U.S. politics and Latino/a politics today. Bender examines their shared legacy and its continuing influence on political issues including immigration, education, war, poverty, and religion. Mapping a new political path for Mexican Americans and the poor of all backgrounds, this book argues that there is still time to prove Kennedy and Chávez right.

Oregon Book Awards

Duncan Stewart - Library Journal

Bender (law, Univ. of Oregon Sch. of Law; Greasers and Gringos) frames his history of American Latino political participation within a study of the friendship of Robert Kennedy and César Chávez, who first met during JFK's presidential campaign. RKF oversaw outreach to Latinos, while Chávez headed the largest voter registration organization in California. Later, Chávez turned to rural union organizing of immigrant agricultural workers and called for help from RFK, who backed their 1966 strike. His backing of Chávez and the union, their shared belief in nonviolent activism, and their commitment to Catholic teachings on the poor created a bond between the son of Irish wealth and the Mexican farm worker. In turn, Chávez and the United Farm Workers Union worked to help RFK win the 1968 California primary from which Bender dates the decline of Chávez's union. After RKF's assassination, union political enthusiasm waned, and President Nixon sought to undermine the Farm Workers legally and economically. In the face of the anti-immigrant movement that began in 2006 and some anti-Hispanic vitriol from 2008 GOP candidates, Bender issues a plea for a revival of the RFK-Chávez concern for the dignity and well-being of the poor. He conveys both the fact and the emotion of the Latino dream for uplift, as shared by Chávez and RFK. Recommended for public and academic libraries.

"Courageous." -Ilan Stavans, author of Spanglish: The Making of a New American Language Robert Kennedy and Cesar Chavez came from opposite sides of the tracks of race and class that still divide Americans. Both optimists, Kennedy and Chavez shared a common vision of equality. They united in the 1960s to crusade for the rights of migrant farm workers. Farm workers faded from public consciousness following Kennedy's assassination and Chavez's early passing. Yet the work of Kennedy and Chavez continues to reverberate in America today. Bender chronicles their warm friendship and embraces their bold political vision for making the American dream a reality for all. Although many books discuss Kennedy or Chavez individually, this is the first book to capture their multifaceted relationship and its relevance to mainstream U.S. politics and Latino/a politics today. Bender examines their shared legacy and its continuing influence on political issues including immigration, education, war, poverty, and religion. Mapping a new political path for Mexican Americans and the poor of all backgrounds, this book argues that there is still time to prove Kennedy and Chavez right. A friendship cut short Viva (John) Kennedy Viva la huelga César's fast and deeds of love Viva (Bobby) Kennedy One night in America The dream of dignity survives Aftermath Viva la causa : rural Latinos and the farm worker movement Viva la raza : urban Latinos and the Chicano movement Vietnam and Mexican Americans : patriotism and protest Latinos and poverty Immigration : walls and wages Lessons from 1968 : Latino politics today Latinos and national politics Mexican Americans and the Catholic Church Mexican Americans and the civil rights movement Looking ahead : the future of the Democratic Party and immigration reform.