History

Product Description

Courageous."
-Ilan Stavans, author of Spanglish: The Making of a New American Language

Robert Kennedy and César Chávez came from opposite sides of the tracks of race and class that still divide Americans. Both optimists, Kennedy and Chávez shared a common vision of equality. They united in the 1960s to crusade for the rights of migrant farm workers. Farm workers faded from public consciousness following Kennedy's assassination and Chávez's early passing. Yet the work of Kennedy and Chávez continues to reverberate in America today.

Bender chronicles their warm friendship and embraces their bold political vision for making the American dream a reality for all. Although many books discuss Kennedy or Chávez individually, this is the first book to capture their multifaceted relationship and its relevance to mainstream U.S. politics and Latino/a politics today. Bender examines their shared legacy and its continuing influence on political issues including immigration, education, war, poverty, and religion. Mapping a new political path for Mexican Americans and the poor of all backgrounds, this book argues that there is still time to prove Kennedy and Chávez right.

About The Author

Steven Bender is the James and Ilene Hershner Professor of Law at the University of Oregon School of Law. He is coauthor of Everyday Law for Latinos (Paradigm 2008) and author of Greasers and Gringos: Latinos, Law, and the American Imagination (NYU Press, 2003).

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