by Randy Shaw on March 10, 2025 (BeyondChron.org)
Inspiring Resistance Against MAGA
Seeking inspiration and encouragement in these difficult times? Come to the Cinequest Festival in San Jose on Sunday, March 16 for the world premiere of American Agitators, the remarkable story of ninety years of groundbreaking organizing by Fred Ross, Sr. and Jr.
Fred Ross Sr.’s groundbreaking organizing efforts carried on and expanded by organizers improved the lives and livelihoods of millions. I was so impressed at the number and quality of organizers trained by Fred Ross, Sr. (most notably Cesar Chavez and Dolores Huerta) that I wrote a book that highlighted this legacy, Beyond the Fields: Cesar Chavez, the UFW and the Struggle for Justice in the 21st Century.
Fred Ross, Jr. approached Director Ray Telles about making a film of his father’s life at the memorial service for Fred Ross Sr. in 1992. Telles told me, “I discussed making this film with Fred Jr. for thirty years. We finally decided to move forward in 2021.”
A Remarkable Story
Fred Ross Sr.’s organizing life covered many of the major social justice campaigns of his time. He became politically conscious through a close friend who went to Spain to fight fascism in the 1930’s. He ran government camps for the unhoused during the Depression (a character in the film Grapes of Wrath is based on Ross). He helped find jobs for Japanese-Americans interned during WW2.
His work with Latino families led to a Supreme Court decision on education that was linked to Brown vs. Board of Education. He also helped Latino families get justice against police abuse, which was unheard of then in Los Angeles. His pioneering grassroots electoral strategies—later used by Robert F. Kennedy’s winning 1968 California presidential primary campaign and Obama’s 2009 campaign—elected Ed Roybal as the first Latino to the Los Angeles City Council in 1949.
Many see parallels between the internment of Japanese-American citizens and Trump’s threat to deport Latino citizens. Ross’ efforts to help a scorned group whose citizenship, property and human rights were stripped by the United States government offers valuable insight into today’s times.
Ross’s greatest legacy emerged from his recruitment of Cesar Chavez and Dolores Huerta. This soon led to the launching of the farmworkers’ movement. Huerta calls Ross her “spiritual father.” Ross mentored a young generation of organizers who went on to battle for social justice beyond the fields for the balance of their lives.
Fred Ross, Jr. was also one of the great organizers of his time. Starting with the farmworkers movement, Ross Jr.’s career included a successful national campaign to end U.S. military aide to El Salvador, hospital and electrical worker organizing, and a national campaign that increased Latino voter turnout. Ross Jr. played a key role in the 1987 campaign to elect Nancy Pelosi to Congress, and the two remained close friends until Ross’s death in November 2022.
Inspiring a new generation of activists
I asked Director Telles, whose 1997 documentary Fight in the Fields is an absolutely must-see, what he hoped the film would bring to audiences. “I see this film as inspiring people to action. Fred Ross Sr. showed that systemic change requires organizing. We need organizing today more than ever.”
Ross’s story illustrates the power of collective action to combat the type of racism and bigotry now rising in the United States. Ross helped Latinos build their power and legal rights when they were routinely beaten and abused in Los Angeles and other California cities. Few outsiders thought Latino families could overcome these attacks, but they did. And now that we have American Agitators, everyone can see how this movement was organized and prevailed.
Ross proved that organizing can bring victories against powerful forces. At a time when some feel overwhelmed by MAGA, demonstrating how powerful forces can be overcome is a key message of the film.
Not a “White Savior”
Director Telles teaches at UC Berkeley. Before screening the film to his class he heard some question why he made a film promoting a dead white man. Telles’ told me, “Ross never tried to be a white savior. He built the power of activists like Chavez and Huerta and generations of young Latino activists. Ross always stayed in the background. He never sought the limelight.”
It was precisely Ross Sr. and Jr’s pattern of avoiding credit that makes this film so essential. Those concerned about today’s America need to understand past struggles that brought success. And that means finally promoting the incredible social justice legacy of Fred Ross Sr. and Jr.
You can start getting inspired this Sunday at the Cinequest in San Jose. Buy tickets at https://www.americanagitators.com
Si Se Puede!
Randy Shaw
Randy Shaw is the Editor of Beyond Chron and the Director of San Francisco’s Tenderloin Housing Clinic, which publishes Beyond Chron. Shaw’s new book is the revised and updated, The Tenderloin: Sex, Crime and Resistance in the Heart of San Francisco. His prior books include Generation Priced Out: Who Gets to Live in the New Urban America. The Activist’s Handbook: Winning Social Change in the 21st Century, and Beyond the Fields: Cesar Chavez, the UFW and the Struggle for Justice in the 21st Century.
