Abstract The Kings-Tulare Counties (California) Migrant Ministry was formed by the Christian Migrant Ministry in 1959. Its purpose was to administer the Christian gospel to seasonal farm workers with a direct focus upon religious education, child-care, teenage and adult vocational and literacy training. Religious and community organizers who worked with the K-TCMM hoped that organized farm workers could exert influence, challenge established injustices and improve conditions on and off the job.

Abstract The National Sharecroppers Fund (NSF) was incorporated in 1943 and grew out of “National Sharecroppers Week,” an annual event intended to rally support for the Southern Tenant Farmers Union. NSF was founded to provide financial assistance and information on government aid programs to organizations dedicated to improving living conditions for the rural poor. The photograph collection consists of images documenting NSF activities and the lives of sharecroppers and their families from the 1940s...

Abstract Philip Vera Cruz (Dec 25, 1904 – June 12, 1994) was born in Saoag, Ilocos Sur, Philippines. He worked on farms in the Philippines before traveling to the United States in 1926. Vera Cruz worked several odd jobs around the Midwest, but was not active in any union before moving to California in 1943 and becoming a farm worker. He joined the Agricultural Worker Organizing Committee (AWOC) and soon became a leader in farm workers rights. In 1965 he was an active force in the AWOC decision to...

Abstract Subjects include: California boycotts; migrant laborers; immigration and farm labor legislation; farm worker health; Prop 22; Dolores Huerta; California agribusiness