United to Strike: A Story of the Delano Grape Workers
I Am America UNITED TO STRIKE A Story of the Delano Grape Workers By Molly Zenk Illustrated by Eric Freeberg JOLLY FISH PRESS Mendota Heights Minnesota
PART I Fall 1965
Chapter One September 1 1965 Dear Diary Today I am eleven It's funny because I don't feel eleven I still feel ten but somehow waking up this morning makes me a whole year older My best friend Jasmine says being eleven makes us closer to God I don't know if she means that we're one year closer to death or just that it's our church confirmation year Jasmine is morbid my new word of the day so it could go either way Think happy thoughts and Jasmine don't go hand in hand It's more like prepare for the worst Maybe she thinks in the temporary instead of the permanent because her dad and grandparents used to be migrants They traveled from farm to farm looking for work When they got here the work stuck around so they stuck around Jasmine still thinks that can change for some reason She doesn't listen when I tell her my lola says the vineyard work in Delano has been steady for generations
