"BUENA SUERTE, CESAR CHAVEZ": LOVELY FRAMED PHOTOGRAPH OF CESAR CHAVEZ AND ROBERT KENNEDY, INSCRIBED BY CESAR CHAVEZ

CHAVEZ, Cesar and KENNEDY, Robert F. Photograph inscribed. No place: No publisher, circa 1966. Black-and-white photographic print, measuring 9-1/2 by 8 inches; handsomely matted and framed, entire piece measures 16 by 14-1/2 inches. $3200.

Wonderful black-and-white photographic print of Cesar Chavez and Robert Kennedy meeting in front of the press at the Delano Grape Strike, inscribed below the image: "Para Andy y Margarita—Buena Suerte, Cesar Chavez."

In 1966, months after the Delano Grape Strike began, Senator Robert Kennedy first traveled in Delano, California to meet Cesar Chavez, president of the United Farm Workers, and the estimated 6-10,000 migrant workers protesting for improved working conditions and legal protections. Kennedy had not always been interested in supporting Chavez or the United Farm Workers, though he was horrified by the treatment of migrant workers in the United States. In 1966, embroiled in Vietnam and issues affecting his New York constituents, Kennedy rejected his staffers' entreaties that he travel out to the California UFW protests. However, meeting Cesar Chavez changed all of that for him. The pair formed an instant bond despite the massive differences in their lives and upbringings. Kennedy witnessed the injustices faced by the farm workers firsthand on his trip and asked Chavez, "What can I do?" On March 10, 1968, Kennedy again traveled to meet with Chavez. The morning he visited Delano, Kennedy had decided to run for president and he met Chavez from the perspective of a man who planned to represent the entire nation, not just New York. The Chavez he encountered was worn down by a month-long hunger strike, but still energized by his cause. Kennedy was with Chavez as he broke his fast, publicly offering his support to the farm workers and expressing his respect for their choice to pursue nonviolent protest. Kennedy committed to pursuing legislative remedies to the farm workers' plight. In the end, the UFW finally won the contract they had been fighting for in July 1970.

Tiny oxidation dot to RFK's face, unobtrusive light rubbing and creasing primarily affecting margins. A handsome framed photograph, most desirable inscribed.