Cesar E. Chavez National Monument

One December, I mapped out a trip to California to travel by myself and visit a number of historic sites, national parks and presidential libraries. It was an ambitious plan, and as it turned out, driving those busy California highways alone took far longer than I expected.

One of the stops on that journey was the Cesar E. Chavez National Monument, located in the hills near Keene. California. The monument preserves La Paz, the headquarters of the United Farm Workers, where Chavez lived and worked during the later years of his life.

Cesar Chavez became one of the most important labor and civil rights leaders in the United States during the twentieth century. In the 1960s he helped organize farm workers, many of them migrant laborers who endured long hours, low pay and harsh working conditions. Chavez led a movement that relied on nonviolent protest, marches and national boycotts to bring attention to the struggles of agricultural workers. 

One of the most powerful places there is the simple memorial marking Chavez’s resting place. The grave is modest, just a white monument surrounded by flowers, flags and small tributes left by visitors. The space feels like a shrine.

The site became a national monument in 2012 designated by Barack Obama, ensuring the story of Cesar Chavez and the farm workers; movement would be preserved for future generations.