Books by Roger Bruns

Introduces the story of Martin Luther King to a generation who are too young to remember the events of the Civil Rights movement. This biography traces the story of the man who took on the entrenched racism of the South - and North - through a non-violent movement that changed the course of American history.

Cesar Chavez and the United Farm Workers Movement chronicles the drive for a union of one of American society's most exploited groups. It is a story of courage and determination, set against the backdrop of the 1960s, a time of assassinations, war protests, civil rights battles, and reform efforts for poor and minority citizens.American farm workers were men and women on labor's last rung, living in desperate and inhumane conditions, poisoned by pesticides, and making a pittance for back-breaking work. The book shows how these migrant workers found a champion in Chavez and the United Farm Workers Union. With the help of quotes from documentary material only recently made available, it tells the story of the boycotts, marches, and strikes-including hunger strikes-used to force concessions for better conditions and pay. It also shows how the farm workers movement helped set the stage for growing Latino cultural awareness and political power.

Cesar Chavez, the labor organizer and founder of the United Farm Workers of America, was, perhaps, an unlikely hero. In the context of the times, with the Civil Rights Movement, Vietnam, and race riots raging, Chavez is shown to slowly build the farm workers labor movement, along with colleagues such as Dolores Huerta.