Unit Plan, Lesson Plan, Article, Video, Activity Philip Vera Cruz: Justice for Farm Workers

This unit exposes students to the general history of the Filipino presence in the United States and the specific role of Filipinos in the organization of the California farm workers’ movement in the 1960s and 1970s. Students go beyond textbook and popular media accounts of the farm worker movement to appreciate the importance of Filipino leaders like Philip Vera Cruz, who promoted ethnic unity in the labor movement and larger struggles for social justice. The lesson will culminate with students writing their own textbook revisions that detail the Filipino role in California’s farm worker movement, including the formation of the United Farm Workers (UFW) and the successful grape boycott of the 1960s.

• Lesson 1: This lesson focuses on the nature of agricultural work in California and the multiracial/multiethnic groups making up the rural workforce. Students analyze primary sources in the form of poetry written by different groups to understand common struggles shared by California farm workers and generate ideas about what things would divide workers. Students then write their own poetry or a letter about the conditions faced by workers.
• Lesson 2: This lesson focuses specifically on the history of Filipinos in California and how they became involved in agriculture. Students read a biography about Philip Vera Cruz and create a graphic historical timeline that connects events from his life to a broader historical and generational context.
• Lesson 3: Students “open up” a textbook account of the founding of the UFW by analyzing a number of documents that reveal the pivotal role of Filipino workers in the farm workers’ movement of the 1960s and 1970s. They then “revise” a textbook account to be more inclusive of Filipino contributions.