Delano High School Auditorium, Site of Historic Senate Hearing

The Delano High School appears much as it did in 1966.

NPS photo

Quick Facts

OPEN TO PUBLIC:

No

MANAGED BY:

Delano Union School District

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Audio Description, Cellular Signal

During the Delano Grape Strike when growers and their agents threatened strikers with violence on picket lines, the Kern County sheriff arrested the nonviolent strikers who hadn't committed any crimes. They were accused of unlawful assembly. This unconstitutional practice of arrest was exposed during hearings on the grape strike and farm workers by the U.S. Senate Subcommittee on Migratory Labor in March 1966.

At a packed hearing in the Delano High School Auditorium, Senator Robert F. Kennedy famously responded to the sheriff's defense of his arrests of peaceful pickets by suggesting that "the sheriff and the district attorney read the Constitution of the United States."

Kennedy was the first national political figure to fully embrace Cesar and the grape strikers. His involvement increased the visibility of the movement, helping make it a national issue. For more on the hearing and Kennedy's famous words, view a short excerpt of the movie, Cesar's Last Fast.

Public entry on school grounds is prohibited. Please remain outside the fence and observe the school and auditorium from your vehicle.