In honor of Hispanic Heritage Month, the Fine Arts and Humanities Departments at Cochise College will offer free screenings of the film “Cesar Chavez” and display photographs of the civil rights leader and labor organizer taken by Cochise College photography instructor Cathy Murphy.

Directed by Diego Luna, the film chronicles the biography of Cesar Chavez, who became a famous advocate for farm workers. Amidst an environment of greed and prejudice, Chavez embraced non-violence in his leadership. The film is showing at three locations across Cochise County in mid-October:

Murphy and a display of her photos will be at all three film screenings. As a staff photographer for United Farm Workers, which Chavez co-founded in 1962, she documented the plight of the farm workers and their children, who often worked for dawn to dusk in deplorable conditions. Through her friendship with Chavez and his family, Murphy also captured the personal side of his life. Several of her photos can be seen in the film.

Cesar Chavez and Cathy Murphy (Photo by Paul Chavez)

Cesar Chavez and Cathy Murphy (Photo by Paul Chavez)

“When I first saw Chavez, I was amazed,” Murphy wrote in a piece for Getty Images’ InFocus. “He was such a small man. How could he dare to take on California’s agribusiness? His security guards and two very large German Shepard dogs surrounded him. I jumped in behind the dogs and took my first photo of him. His piercing, dark eyes answered my question. I saw his power and realized that his strength had little to with his size.”

Murphy was in the midst of studying photojournalism at the Brooks Institute of Photography and working part-time for the Santa Barbara News and Review. In summer 1975, she was assigned to get a photograph of Chavez, who was leading the “1,000-Mile March” to spread the word about a new union law.

“I planned to spend a few hours on this assignment, but Chavez’ charisma drew me in, and I returned to the March the next day,” Murphy wrote. “I watched as he talked to farm workers and then met with him myself. After seeing my photographs in the newspaper of farm workers on strike at a near-by ranch in Egg City, Calif., Chavez made me an offer I couldn’t refuse. Like all United Farm Workers volunteers I would be paid $5 a week for working six days a week and live in modest housing at the union headquarters in the Tehachapi Mountains.”

Murphy remembers walking between 20 and 25 miles every day for a month and developing intense blisters by day three. Chavez soaked her feet in warm water, used a needle to break the blisters, and she was back to taking photographs the next day. For the next two years, Murphy would chronicle Chavez’s work and the lives of farm workers in what he dubbed “killing fields.”

“I had no idea how that assignment would change the course of my life so dramatically,” wrote Murphy, who is currently teaching digital photography courses on both the Sierra Vista and Douglas campuses. Several of Murphy’s photos are included in the October 2012 online edition of Time Magazine, featuring the 50th anniversary of the United Farm Workers of America.

Film producer Harvey Weinstein writes that the film “Cesar Chavez,” released in 2014 and rated PG-13, should be “required viewing for all Americans.” He explains that immigration is a current widespread topic, and this film “shows a piece of the sacrifice so many made to come and live in America.” Weinstein applauds the movie for showing what “persistence and sacrifice towards a worthy cause can accomplish.” Chavez’s successes show the power of one person’s ability to initiate change in the system.

Light refreshments will be provided at each of the film screenings, which are part of the college’s Multicultural Film Series, a collaborative effort with the City of Sierra Vista’s Arts and Humanities Commission. Free film screenings this year also include “Smoke Signals” in November, “Mandela” in February and “Honor Diaries” in March. For more information, contact Tanya Biami at (520) 515-5316.