Flags & Banners

Woman praying with the UFW logo sewn on to her headscarf

Overview

The photograph below shows police monitoring a UFW rally. Between the police and the rally, activists hold three potent flags: The UFW flag with its black bird, a large American flag, and a banner of the Virgen de Guadalupe above the UFW logo and the letters NFWA (National Farm Workers Association, predecessor to the United Farm Workers).

Questions

  • Why might religious icons be used for protection in farm worker rallies and strikes?
  • What are some of the cultural traditions and rituals that are conveyed with these images?

Strikers in Delano with a UFW flag and a banner with the Virgen de Guadalupe and the UFW logo observed by police

Women praying. Labor Archives Research Center, San Francisco State University.

Delano Strike. Labor Archives Research Center, San Francisco State University.