Why America Stopped Buying Grapes

My book, The Times You Grew Up With, takes you back: https://paulmcallister.store In September 1965, Filipino grape workers in Delano, California walked off the job. Eight days later, Cesar Chavez and the Mexican farmworkers joined them. What followed was the longest and most consequential agricultural strike in American history — a five-year fight that turned into a national consumer boycott of California table grapes, reached millions of American households, and forced an industry to its knees. This is the story of the Delano grape strike, the boycott that changed how Americans thought about the food on their tables, the forgotten labor leader who started it all, and what it cost the people who won. Sources: National Park Service, “Workers United: The Delano Grape Strike and Boycott” — nps.gov/articles/000/workers-united-the-delano-grape-strike-and-boycott.htm UC San Diego Library, Farmworker Movement Documentation Project — libraries.ucsd.edu/farmworkermovement KVPR / Central Valley Roots, “In 1966 Delano Hearing, Senator Robert F. Kennedy Clashed with Kern County Sheriff Leroy Galyen” (2025) — kvpr.org History.com, “Larry Itliong: Biography, Achievements & Legacy” — history.com/articles/larry-itliong Zinn Education Project, “Aug. 15 and 17, 1973: Two Striking United Farm Workers Killed” — zinnedproject.org Wikipedia, “California Agricultural Labor Relations Act of 1975” and “Cesar Chavez Sexual Abuse Allegations” — en.wikipedia.org