Cesar Chavez

“To be a man is to suffer for others. God help us to be men!”

“In some cases non-violence requires more militancy than violence.”

“It is possible to become discouraged about the injustice we see everywhere. But God did not promise us that the world would be humane and just. He gives us the gift of life and allows us to choose the way we will use our limited time on earth. It is an awesome opportunity.”

“You are never strong enough that you don't need help.”

“Preservation of one's own culture does not require contempt or disrespect for other cultures.”

“Though many of the poor have come to see the affluent middle class as its enemy, that class actually stands between the poor and the real powers in this society - the administrative octopus with its head in Washington, the conglomerates, the military complex.”

“We need to help students and parents cherish and preserve the ethnic and cultural diversity that nourishes and strengthens this community - and this nation.”

“We learned many years ago that the rich may have money, but the poor have time.”

“What we do know absolutely is that human lives are worth more than grapes and that innocent-looking grapes on the table may disguise poisonous residues hidden deep inside where washing cannot reach.”

“There are vivid memories from my childhood - what we had to go through because of low wages and the conditions, basically because there was no union. I suppose, if I wanted to be fair, I could say that I'm trying to settle a personal score. I could dramatize it by saying that I want to bring social justice to farm workers.”

“The end of all knowledge should be service to others.”

“Our language is the reflection of ourselves. A language is an exact reflection of the character and growth of its speakers.”

“Farm workers are society's canaries. Farm workers - and their children - demonstrate the effects of pesticide poisoning before anyone else.”

“There is no such thing as defeat in non-violence.”

“The fight is never about grapes or lettuce. It is always about people.”

“As long as we have a poor country bordering California, it's going to be very difficult to win strikes.”

“Real education should consist of drawing the goodness and the best out of our own students. What better books can there be than the book of humanity?”

“Who gets the risks? The risks are given to the consumer, the unsuspecting consumer and the poor work force. And who gets the benefits? The benefits are only for the corporations, for the money makers.”

“If you really want to make a friend, go to someone's house and eat with him... the people who give you their food give you their heart.”

“We draw our strength from the very despair in which we have been forced to live. We shall endure.”