Important leader of the civil rights movement During the 1960s there were many activists of the civil rights movement like Cesar Chavez. Cesar Chavez was born March 31 in the North Gila River Valley outside Yuma. Over his years, Chavez accomplished many things that changed farm workers for the better. When he was young his family lost their farm in the Great Depression and they became migrant workers. They had to move to different places in order to find work, which meant that every time they moved, Chavez had to change schools. When he finished eighth grade he dropped out of school to become a full-time migrant worker to help his family. When Chavez became a full-time worker, he was exposed to the hardships of the life of a farm worker. From here his dream of helping other farm workers like him was born. On his birthday, March 31, 1962, he founded the National Farm Workers Association, which later became known as the United Farm Workers of America. It started with 10 people in the group, him, his wife and his eight children, but it soon started ...