Cesar Chavez was a civil rights activist. labor leader. and champion of social and economic justice. Throughout his life Cesar Chavez fought for justice for the poor. the young. the vulnerable. and those living on the margins and in the shadows of the richest and most powerful nation on earth. Because of Cesar Chavez. migrant farmworkers and their families now enjoy more humane living and working conditions. Cesar Chavez knew firsthand how hard the life of migrant farm workers was because he lived it himself. beginning with his work in the fields of the Central Valley at the age of ten to help support his family. In 1945. Chavez served his country as a member of the U.S.