1930s: Migrant farm workers, most of them coming north from Mexico, are subject to the dictates of the farm owners and suffer poor wages and working and living conditions. In 1936, some of them go on strike for better wages, employing a former colonel of the army to lead them. They are equipped with machine guns and steal red flags from a highway crew, threatening the residents of Salinas by telling them that a communist army is about to take over the city.

Today: Although working and living conditions still remain difficult for migrant workers, there are many support groups who have rallied for better wages, health facilities, and educational opportunities for those who work on California farms.

1930s: Salinas, California, is still mostly a cattle-raising land, with wheat and lettuce grown on some farms. The population of Salinas is about fifty thousand people.

Today...