Cesar Chavez's Quotes

We cannot seek achievement for ourselves and forget about progress and prosperity for our community... Our ambitions must be broad enough to include the aspirations and needs of others, for their sakes and for our own.

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.

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.

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

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

Students must have initiative; they should not be mere imitators. They must learn to think and act for themselves - and be free.

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

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

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.

When we are really honest with ourselves we must admit our lives are all that really belong to us. So it is how we use our lives that determines the kind of men we are.

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

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

From the depth of need and despair, people can work together, can organize themselves to solve their own problems and fill their own needs with dignity and strength.

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?

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

There is no substitute for hard work, 23 or 24 hours a day. And there is no substitute for patience and acceptance.

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