JOHN KOUNS 1966

John Kouns is a free lance photographer who came to the Central Valley of California in the 1960s to take photos of working and living conditions of migrant farmworkers. He lived for a time in a  farm labor camp near Porterville, California.  In 1968 he visited Delano and shot these photos of Cesar Chavez and his Fast for Nonviolence.

Jon Lewis was a photojournalist who joined the farmworker movement in early 1966 and worked for a year  documenting the work of Cesar Chavez and the Delano Grape Strikers. In 1968, he returned to shoot these photos of Cesar Chavez and his fast for nonviolence. After Jon’s death in 2009, Yale University acquired his farmworker movement portfolio, which will be available to scholars and the interested public in 2011.

PHOTO BY JOHN KOUNS

Every evening of the Fast for Nonviolence, a Catholic Mass was celebrated at the Forty Acres in the newly built, but not yet open, farmworker coop store. The large room was was transformed into a chapel for these evening religious services with folding chairs provided for Cesar Chavez and his wife, Helen.  Hand painted windows served as stain glass windows, a  table was used as the altar,  a large crucifix was hung on the  huelga flag covering the wall  behind the altar, and of course, no farmworker chapel would be complete without an image of Our Lady of Guadalupe on display.

PHOTO BY JON LEWIS

During his fast, Cesar Chavez lived in a small room – large enough to accomodate a twin bed and two folding chairs - at the newly constructed farmworker coop located at the Forty Acres on the outskirts of Delano.

The evening religious services during the Fast began with a short procession led by crossbearer, Lupe Murguia, and followed by Father Mark Day, a Franciscan priest assigned to the farmworker movement.

Cesar Chavez was assisted by two union officers, Julio Hernandez and Philip Vera Cruz. During his fast, Chavez often complained of being cold and to compensate he wore a heavy coat with a hood and extra clothing and frequently used a blanket to cover his legs during the religious service.

PHOTO BY JON LEWIS

This expression of fear on the face of Cesar Chavez is the only photo among many hundreds  I have examined that show this emotion. The Fast for Nonviolence was the first public fast undertaken by Cesar Chavez during his 31-year as founder/leader of the farmworker movement and its effect on his health was unpredictable and unsettling. He was very unsure of himself and his ability to withstand the physical demands of the fast. Union officers, Julio Hernandez and Philip Vera Cruz help Chavez to walk to the Catholic Mass in the makeshift chapel. The Rev. Jim Drake, Chavez’s first lieutenant, brings up the rear.

PHOTO BY JON LEWIS

Oftentimes the Catholic Mass at the Forty Acres during the fast of Cesar Chavez began with a procession. Here Father Mark Day, a Franciscan priest, leads the procession with the image of the Virgin of Quadalupe being carried by two farmworkers from Porterville.

PHOTO BY JOHN KOUNS

George Ballis, a long-time  free lance photographer of the  farmworker movement is kneeling at the end of the altar looking back at Cesar Chavez, no doubt pondering his next shot. During the course of the 25-day fast, despite repeated requests from the state and national press corps, Chavez gave no interviews. The only photos permitted were those taken at the public religious ceremony each evening.

PHOTO BY JON LEWIS

Cesar Chavez was not an anxious person, he possessed a remarkable ability to sit relaxed and contented. Photographer Jon Lewis captures this mindset by showing a slightly slumping figure with hands lightly clasped, resting on the lap.

PHOTO BY JOHN KOUNS

This photo was taken in the early days of the Fast, the group gathered for the Catholic Mass is composed almost exclusively of the Delano area strikers and their families. As word of Chavez’s fast began to spread, the crowd would grow to such size, the makeshift chapel could not accomodate them.

PHOTO BY JOHN KOUNS

In addition to the Franciscan priest, Father Mark Day, other priests who supported the cause of the farmworkers would come the Forty Acres during the Fast to participate in the Catholic Mass. Father Eugene Boyle from the San Francisco Archdiocese was one of those early and very active supporters of Cesar Chavez and his farmworker movement.