Carmen Ramos Chandler
Carmen Ramos Chandler
Three-year old Carmen Ramos Chandler picketing against her mother’s arrest, Texas, ca. 1966. Photo by Emmon Clarke.
Carmen Ramos Chandler is the daughter of Irene Ramos Chandler and Bill Chandler. On October 24, 1966, when Carmen was three years old, her parents were arrested alongside nine other UFWOC members during a protest in Roma, Texas. Irene and Bill, alongside Daría Vera, Eugene Nelson, Tony Orendáin, Marshal Méndez, Gilberto Campos, and others were blockading the International Bridge between Roma, Texas, and Ciudad Miguel Alemán, Mexico to prevent growers from bringing in Mexican workers. The strikers were protesting the harsh working conditions of farmworkers and demanding higher wages. The blockade lasted six hours, successfully halting the traffic of the growers bringing in the strikebreakers from Mexico.
The men were first detained, and Irene Ramos and Daría Vera were arrested later after lying on the ground wrapped in a banner with the union symbol and the words “Ayúdanos Virgen de Guadalupe” (Help us Virgin of Guadalupe). Ramos and Vera were dragged off the bridge and sent to jail for disturbing the peace. The event made national headlines, bringing attention to the farmworker struggles in Texas. The photo of a three-year-old Carmen Ramos Chandler crying while holding a sign reading “I want my mommy” appeared on the front page of El Malcriado on December 16, 1966.
UFWOC organizer Bill Chandler, Río Grande City, Texas, 1967. Photo by Emmon Clarke.
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El Malcriado Issue 51, December 2, 1966
The photo of a three-year-old Carmen Ramos Chandler crying and holding a sign reading “I want my mommy” on the front page of El Malcriado, issue 51 from December 2, 1966. The photo was taken by Emmon Clarke.
Photographer Emmon Clarke spent some time in Texas, documenting the activities of Texas farmworkers, organizers from Texas, and organizers sent to Starr County by the National Farm Workers Association from California. Texas melon pickers started their strike on June 1, 1966, demanding higher wages. Wages were often as low as 40-60 cents an hour. Following the successful march from Delano to Sacramento of Spring that year, workers in Texas organized a 400-mile march from Rio Grande City to Austin from July 4 to Labor Day, September 5, 1966. La Casita Farms, the largest melon grower, raised wages from 85 cents to $1.00 but refused to meet the workers’ demands for $1.25 and a contract recognizing their union.
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