Voices from the March (Merced)

On Cesar Chavez March to Merced
By Jim Miller on April 2

The day started well with the early morning sun illuminating the glistening green fields around Planada after a night of rain. We gathered in the same park where Cesar Chavez had stopped on his historic march back in the sixties and were sent off with words of encouragement from one of Chavez’s fellow marchers who noted that our cause was also about the need for hope and dignity for working people. Then a brother from the UFW recited the farm worker’s prayer and we did the solidarity clap that originated with their cause decades earlier.

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Nearly 250 Strong on Cesar Chavez's Birthday
By 260 Miles of Blogging on April 2

Our march from Planada to Merced was our largest since the kickoff events in Bakersfield on March 5. What was remarkable about our march 2 days ago, more than 3 weeks since we first began our journey, was how it developed. We didn't start with a throng of people but by the time we were approaching Sierra Presbyterian Church we were nearly 250 strong. Somehow drums were drumming. Somehow megaphones were blaring call and response. Somehow our march grew into something that I had never been a part of before.

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