George Elfie Ballis’ Story
What We Need to Know, See and Change about Ourselves and How We Make Change
By Rebecca Nemec
Growing up in the Central Valley of California was filled with hot summer days and foggy winter nights. The winters brought about the citrus harvest and the sounds of windmills churning in the fields to protect the delicate fruits from the frost. The summers were hot and dry, and the stone fruits flourished. I remember running cross country races through an almond orchard next to my elementary school. Agriculture was a way of life and a part of everyone’s life.
But the Central Valley wasn’t always a productive and fertile place to grow food. Behind the now endless grape vineyards and orange groves was quite a lot of money and an endless power struggle over the right to water. Although much of the agricultural land in the Valley is primarily owned by large corporate agricultural companies, there continues to be a small group of people committed to sustainable agriculture, family farming and real food.
Now that I am a part of this sustainable food movement, I have begun to search out these people, learning their stories, struggles, and victories in the Central Valley. Little did I know that as I ran those cross country races through almond orchards as a child there were people my age and older fighting for what I’m fighting for now - a food system that nourishes people, land and community. My appreciation for where I grew up continues to grow as I unearth the unique people that make up the Valley and how they have shaped the sustainable food movement that I now feel deeply connected to. On the same token, I continue to appreciate not only the people who see a vision for a more just, equitable and sustainable food system, but also those that continue to suffer from the current food system that exists.
Farm workers have been and continue to be impacted by our current food system in ways that many of us are unaware of. Because most of us are so disconnected from our food, we rarely think about the people that actually pluck the fruits from the vines, trees, or plants that become our food each day. But as George Elfie Ballis pointed out to me, and as he does so beautifully in his many photographs of farm workers in the Valley, we should celebrate these people for the conditions they have and continue to endure as farm workers.
This was just one of the many lessons that I learned from my conversation with George Elfie Ballis, a resident of the Central Valley who lives just outside of Fresno, California in the town of Tollhouse, CA. I met George through a family friend and when I learned that he worked with and photographed the farm worker rights movement, which had its peak in the 1960s and 1970s, I was eager to learn how his work relates to what I do now. My family friend pointed me in the direction of several books about Cesar Chavez and the farm worker rights movement that George had taken photographs for. I was then drawn to actually speaking directly to George about his life’s work around farm workers, agriculture and food. One in particular was Remembering Cesar: The Legacy of Cesar Chavez (by Ann McGregor, Cindy Wathen and George Elfie Ballis), which is a series of short essays by some of Cesar Chavez’s closet friends, allies and companeros during the farm worker rights movement. Each essay tells a small story about Cesar’s impact on the farm worker rights movement, as well as his life as an advocate for social change. George’s pictures compliment each essay, and beautifully capture the power of the movement and more importantly, the struggle that farm workers endured and still endure today.
After speaking with George and reading this book, I feel as though I have only begun to scratch the surface on understanding and fully appreciating the farm worker rights movement. Indeed, this aspect of the sustainable food movement does not play as prominent a role as other parts of the movement. Though the peak of this movement was seen many decades ago, I think it is worth reexamination, in particular by the young people who are working to promote sustainable, just and local food systems. As a young person working to create change in our food system, I was deeply moved by George’s story and his photographs. I not only learned about the importance of farm worker rights, but a little about myself and my role in making change. Here are just a few lessons that I was so fortunate to have been given in talking only briefly with George and his wife Maia.
Lesson 1: It all boils down to one word
George and Maia have come to realize that all social movements boil down to one word - respect. Whether you’re fighting for better access to food for inner city residents, women’s rights, for civil rights, you are fighting for respect for a group of people. As we work to create change in our food system, I think in framing our discussions around respect, we can be effective at understanding our food system and urging people to value and be apart of a food system that respects producers, consumers, land and community.
Lesson 2: Don’t pity the less fortunate, but celebrate and work together
One image in particular that I found most striking was a picture of three Latino farm workers, all of whom have deep lines in their face, damage from continuous exposure to the scorching heat of the Central Valley summers. Each man, in a plaid work shirt and a cowboy hat, tipped just above their brow, does not look frail or damaged. Each man has a smile on his face, as if they are winding down from a long day in the fields. George explained to me, “the farm workers were my clients. I started photographing them eye to eye, and some of them I’m laying on my belly in the fields to take the photographs. They were not to be pitied; they should be celebrated because of their terrible wages, because of the pesticides, because of their horrible living situation.” His ability to capture the farm worker in a way that shows their resilience and strength in overcoming such a system is both powerful and subtle.
Lesson 3: Youth and Leadership
One of the most poignant and honest insight was George’s view of leadership, particularly his observations of Cesar Chavez as a leader. I think George’s ideas about leadership are clearly reflected in the photograph that is displayed on the cover of Remembering Cesar: The Legacy of Cesar Chavez. This photograph is also George’s favorite photograph in the book because it shows the power of the farm workers as equally as it shows the power of Cesar Chavez leading the movement. George mentioned that Cesar had difficulty in leading the movement in some respects. He explained that Cesar was a greater “mobilizer and inspirer, but he couldn’t handle an established organization. As a leader you have to be able to have a structure in place that is fluid, allows for flow of energy and working collaboratively.” George also strongly believes that being a leader is not about being a hero; if you have one leader, one hero, your movement will surely fade away when that person leaves.
When I asked George about youth leadership in the sustainable food movement he immediately remarked that the power of youth is in their energy. As I described The Food Project to him, George was impressed by our work and the work of youth all over the United States. He said both young and old people contributed greatly to the farm worker rights movement, but in their own unique ways. He said that youth, more than anything, brought an energy to the movement that could not have been replicated by adults. His one piece of advice to youth working in this movement was drawn from Ghandi and his work. George explained that for youth leaders and leaders in the sustainable food movement, in order to move people, you need to not just tell the facts, but touch the hearts of people with your facts. George lamented, “you have to go beyond the facts to the humanity or spirit of it.” For George, the “it” is photography, people, organizing and big mama (the cosmos). What I’ve learned from George is to find the “it” and touch the hearts and humanity of people with it.
George Elfie and Maia Ballis live on the western edge of the Sierra Nevada Mountains, just outside of Fresno, California. The couple founded a not-for-profit organization called the People Food and Land Foundation, which operates an educational learning center called the Sun Mountain Center that teaches youth and adults about food and environmental issues. George photographed Cesar Chavez and the farm worker rights movement and his photographs can be found in Remembering Cesar: The Legacy of Cesar Chavez, Enough! The Tale of Our Struggle, Elfie’s Eye, The Second Coming, and Becoming Cesar to name a few. His photographs can be viewed on his website at: http://www.sunmt.org.