The Voting Rights Act changed the legal landscape and gave citizens. backed up by the Department of Justice. new legal remedies to ensure that their voices would be heard at the ballot boxesfreely. fairly. and equally. It is therefore fitting that we should add the names of these four civil rights leaders to the title of the Voting Rights Act. Who were these leaders? Cesar Chavez dedicated his life to the rights of some of the most vulnerable and powerless in this nation. The migrant farm workers who pick our crops were unable to provide even the most basic needs for their families. Lack of decent pay. schooling. education. sanitation. housing. and political power made them some of the most oppressed Americans. In a land of plenty. these workers had nothing.