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When Shirley Temple Black — child actress, United Nations Ambassador and Nixon Republican — invited labor activist 

 to speak to the Commonwealth Club about his work, he was wary of the request. As a result, he had his confidante and speechwriter, Marc Grossman, follow-up.

Here’s what he learned: Temple Black had been a member of the Screen Actor’s Guild and kept up her membership after she left the profession to support other actors. When she needed financial support for health challenges later in life, the guild paid as part of that membership.

“It turned out she was a pretty good trade unionist,” Grossman said. “She very much was a big fan of Cesar’s.”

, with a focus on the deplorable conditions farm laborers faced. While he wasn’t considered an impressive orator, according to Grossman, he was a powerful storyteller and that characteristic makes up most of his public work.

Grossman reminisced about this speech and the state of unions in the United States at that time in conversation with Kerri Miller for this installment of our occasional series, “They Believed.”

At this pivotal moment in U.S. history, we want to look back at the words of America’s firebrands, visionaries and truth-tellers. What do they reveal about who we were then – and who we are now?

To listen to the full conversation you can use the audio player above.

Subscribe to the MPR News with Kerri Miller podcast on: 

Cesar Chavez California Commonwealth Club Address

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In 1984, labor leader Cesar Chavez gave a speech about the deplorable conditions farm workers lived with; it was one that he knew would shock his audience. Chavez’s speechwriter and confidante, Mark Grossman, looks back at his friend’s legacy of storytelling and activism. 

They Believed: Cesar Chavez on working conditions of farm laborers

A black and white image of a man in front of a crowd of people

They Believed: Cesar Chavez on working conditions of farm laborers

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