In the no-nonsense school of adversity, which we did not choose for ourselves, we are learning how to operate a labor union.
CESAR CHAVEZEvery time we sit at a table at night or in the morning to enjoy the fruits and grain and vegetables from our good earth, remember that they come from the work of men and women and children who have been exploited for generations.
More Cesar Chavez Quotes
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I’ve always maintained that it isn’t the form that’s going to make the difference. It isn’t the rule or the procedure or the ideology, but it’s human beings that will make it.
CESAR CHAVEZ -
In the final analysis it doesn’t really matter what the political system is. We don’t need perfect political systems; we need perfect participation.
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Our very lives are dependent, for sustenance, on the sweat and sacrifice of the campesinos. Children of farm workers should be as proud of their parents’ professions as other children are of theirs.
CESAR CHAVEZ -
Talk is cheap. It is the way we organize and use our lives everyday that tells what we believe in.
CESAR CHAVEZ -
There’s no reason to be non-violent. There’s no challenge unless you are living for people.
CESAR CHAVEZ -
There is no substitute for hard work, 23 or 24 hours a day. And there is no substitute for patience and acceptance.
CESAR CHAVEZ -
Do not romanticize the poor. We are all people, human beings subject to the same temptations and faults as all others. Our poverty damages our dignity.
CESAR CHAVEZ -
True wealth is not measured in money or status or power. It is measured in the legacy we leave behind for those we love and those we inspire.
CESAR CHAVEZ -
I am convinced that the truest act of courage, the strongest act of manliness, is to sacrifice ourselves for others in a totally nonviolent struggle for justice. To be a man is to suffer for others. God help us to be men!
CESAR CHAVEZ -
History will judge societies and governments – and their institutions – not by how big they are or how well they serve the rich and the powerful, but by how effectively they respond to the needs of the poor and the helpless.
CESAR CHAVEZ -
Non-violence is not inaction. It is not discussion. It is not for the timid or weak. Non-violence is hard work.
CESAR CHAVEZ -
It’s ironic that those who till the soil, cultivate and harvest the fruits, vegetables, and other foods that fill your tables with abundance have nothing left for themselves.
CESAR CHAVEZ -
The end of all knowledge must be the building up of character.
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If you’re not frightened that you might fail, you’ll never do the job. If you’re frightened, you’ll work like crazy.
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What is at stake is human dignity. If a man is not accorded respect he cannot respect himself and if he does not respect himself, he cannot demand it.
CESAR CHAVEZ







