California Migrant Ministry

California Migrant Ministry
Founded1920s (state offshoot); formally active in California since 1957
FounderNational Migrant Ministry (national initiative)
DissolvedRenamed National Farm Worker Ministry in 1971
TypeNon‑profit · Ecumenical Christian organization
PurposeProvide direct services and support farmworkers’ organizing and social justice efforts
HeadquartersCalifornia, U.S.
Region served
Migrant and seasonal farm workers in California
ServicesChildcare camps, literacy & English classes, hygiene instruction, food/hygiene distribution, daycare, health outreach
Key people
Doug Still (CMM director, from 1957); Chris Hartmire (director, 1961–1971)
AffiliationsCommunity Service Organization, United Farm Workers (UFW), National Migrant Ministry

The California Migrant Ministry (CMM) was a non-profit ecumenical organization that supported migrant farm workers and later became involved in farmworker organizing in California.

History

The National Migrant Ministry, established in 1920 as an interdenominational initiative, aimed to address the needs of migratory farm workers. Affiliated with the National Council of Churches, it provided health care, vocational training, recreational activities, and religious services at New Deal labor camps nationwide. By the 1950s, 38 states, including California, had established migrant ministry programs.[1][2]

Doug Still became the director of the CMM in 1957,[3]: 35  and established a rural ministry in the San Joaquin and Imperial Valleys, offering services like camps for children, English classes, personal hygiene instruction, daycare centers, and food distribution.[4][5]: 5–15  With the help of a Schwarzhaupt Foundation grant, the CMM staff trained with the Community Service Organization (CSO), led by Fred Ross, where they met Cesar Chavez.[1][2][3]: 35, 76–82 

Based in part on influence from the Community Service Organization, CMM members began to question if charitable service alone was sufficient. They believed that empowering farm workers to fight for better wages and combat job discrimination was a more effective long-term solution.[1] It was during this time period in the late 1950s that the CMM first began to be influenced by Saul Alinsky and his principles for organization.[3]: 34–39 [6]

Chris Hartmire, a Presbyterian minister and graduate of both Princeton University and Union Theological Seminary, took over as CMM director in 1961. Under Hartmire, the CMM increased its involvement in community organizing,[5]: 15–30  and by 1965 CMM had fully embraced farm worker unionization as a major part of its mission.[7] The CMM lobbied against the Bracero Program and supported farm worker organizing.[1][2][8]

Involvement in the Delano Grape Strike

During the Delano grape strike in 1965, the CMM supported Chavez and the United Farm Workers (UFW), providing resources and mobilizing church support.[9][10][11] Three years later, Presbyterian Life (the flagship magazine of the mainline United Presbyterian Church) featured a sympathetic article on the movement. The magazine later published a rebuttal by agricultural businessman Allan Grant. The two articles presented opposing views within the Presbyterian Church on support for the strike.[1][2][12]

Religious influence and opposition

The CMM's support for the union drew both support and opposition from religious groups.[9][13] However, the CMM continued to advocate support for the farm workers at church meetings and denominational gatherings.[1][2][3]: 83–95 

Legacy

In 1971, the CMM (and its parent organization the National Migrant Ministry) became the National Farm Worker Ministry. It formally redefined its mission to support farm workers through organizing and unionization.[1]

The archives of the CMM are held at the Walter P. Reuther Library at Wayne State University.[14]

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Bruns, Roger (2013). "California Migrant Ministry (CMM)". Encyclopedia of Cesar Chavez: The Farm Workers' Fight for Rights and Justice. New York: Bloomsbury Publishing USA. Retrieved January 15, 2025.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 Wells, Ronald A. (2009). "Cesar Chavez's Protestant Allies: The California Migrant Ministry and the Farm Workers". The Journal of Presbyterian History. 87 (1): 5–16. JSTOR 23338055. Retrieved January 15, 2025.
  3. 1 2 3 4 Smith, Sydney D. (1987). Grapes of Conflict. Hope Publishing House. ISBN 0932727123.
  4. ↑ "Ministry to Migrants to End Meeting". Los Angeles Times. August 17, 1963. p. 17. Retrieved January 15, 2025.
  5. 1 2 Hoffman, Pat (1987). Ministry of the Dispossessed: Learning from the Farm Worker Movement. Los Angeles: Wallace Press. ISBN 0941181006. Retrieved January 21, 2025.
  6. ↑ Dutton, Edward P. (1984). "Voluntary Organizations as Agent of Social Change: The Case of the Farm Workers Prior to the Grape Strike of 1965". California Sociologist. 7 (2): 181–196.
  7. ↑ "Migrant Ministry Aids Farm Unionism Efforts: Clergymen Join Workers on Picket Lines for Approval of Representation Election". Los Angeles Times. July 6, 1968. pp. C7. Retrieved January 15, 2025.
  8. ↑ Vega, Priscella (December 25, 2022). "Rev. Chris Hartmire, 1932-2022 Religious leader, 90, helped establish UFW, played role in Loaves and Fishes". Sacramento Bee. Retrieved January 15, 2025.
  9. 1 2 "Churches Deny Backing to Picket Line Marchers". Los Angeles Times. November 28, 1965. pp. I9. ProQuest 155307708. Retrieved January 15, 2025.
  10. ↑ "Grape Strike Report Set for Presbytery Meeting: Committee on Church and Society Supports California Migrant Ministry and Director". Los Angeles Times. February 5, 1966. pp. B6. ProQuest 155372320. Retrieved January 15, 2025.
  11. ↑ Bernstein, Harry (October 20, 1965). "9 Ministers Jailed in Grape Strike: 35 Others Also Arrested as Group Tries to Test Police Order Restricting Pickets Clerics' Arrest". Los Angeles Times. p. 3. ProQuest 155327505. Retrieved January 15, 2025.
  12. ↑ Hartmire, Wayne C. (1969). The Delano Grape Strike: The Farm Worker's Struggle for Self Determination. Los Angeles: California Migrant Ministry.
  13. ↑ Bernstein, Harry (October 17, 1965). "Tensions Mounting in Grape Harvest Strike: Growers, Union Dispute Effect of Walkout; Tempers Flare Throughout 2-County Area". Los Angeles Times. p. 3. ProQuest 155308695. Retrieved January 15, 2025.
  14. ↑ "National Farm Worker Ministry Collection" (PDF). Walter P. Reuther Library, Wayne State University. Retrieved 8 July 2025.

Further reading

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