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Years of misguided teaching have resulted in the destruction of the best in our society, in our cultures and in the environment.

Cesar Chavez

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

Children Live Ourselves Parents Sacrifice
When workers fall back on violence, they are lost. Oh, they might win some of their demands and might end a strike a little earlier, but they give up their imagination, their creativity, their will to work hard and to suffer for what they believe is right.
CESAR CHAVEZ

Believe Creation Fall Give Up Imagination Lost Suffering Violence Win
Those who are willing to sacrifice and be of service have very little difficulty with people. They know what they are all about. People can’t help but want to be near them. They help them; they work with them. That’s what love is all about. It starts with your heart and radiates out.
CESAR CHAVEZ

Help Love People Sacrifice Start Willing
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

History Judgement Need Powerful Rich
To make a great dream come true, the first requirement is a great capacity to dream; the second is persistence.
CESAR CHAVEZ

Dreams Greatness Persistence True
Violence just hurts those who are already hurt. Instead of exposing the brutality of the oppressor, it justifies it.
CESAR CHAVEZ

Hurt Oppression Violence
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.
CESAR CHAVEZ

Determination Honesty Kind Live Men Ourselves
When you have people together who believe in something very strongly – whether it’s religion or politics or unions – things happen.
CESAR CHAVEZ

Believe People Politics Religion Strong Togetherness Unity
In some cases non-violence requires more militancy than violence.
CESAR CHAVEZ

Deep Violence
You are never strong enough that you don’t need help.
CESAR CHAVEZ

Enough Help Need Strong Yourself
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

Act Courage God Man Myself Ourselves Sacrifice Suffering True
In 1968, I became a vegetarian after realizing that animals feel afraid, cold, hungry, and unhappy like we do.
CESAR CHAVEZ

Animal Cold Feeling Happiness Myself
We’ll organize workers in this movement as long as we’re willing to sacrifice. The moment we stop sacrificing, we stop organizing.
CESAR CHAVEZ

Moments Sacrifice Stop Willing
The people who give you their food give you their heart.
CESAR CHAVEZ

Food Heart People Yourself
Our struggle is not easy. Those who oppose our cause are rich and powerful and they have many allies in high places. We are poor. Our allies are few. But we have something the rich do not own. We have our bodies and spirits and the justice of our cause as our weapons.
CESAR CHAVEZ

Body Justice Ourselves Poor Powerful Rich Spirit Struggle Weapon
Concentration is inspiration. You must be completely overtaken by your work and your subject. Only then do all your influences and experience come up to the surface.
CESAR CHAVEZ

Experience Inspirational Yourself
The love for justice that is in us is not only the best part of our being but it is also the most true to our nature.
CESAR CHAVEZ

Justice Love Nature Ourselves True
You cannot uneducate the person who has learned to read.
CESAR CHAVEZ

Education Learning Reading Yourself
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.
CESAR CHAVEZ

Achievement Ambition Community Enough Need Ourselves Prosperity See
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.
CESAR CHAVEZ

Need People Problem Strength Togetherness
Being of service is not enough. You must become a servant of the people. When you do, you can demand their commitment in return.
CESAR CHAVEZ

Commitment Enough People
Non-violence has suffered its biggest defeat in the hands of people who most want to talk about it.
CESAR CHAVEZ

Defeat Hands People Suffering Talk Violence
The people united will never be defeated.
CESAR CHAVEZ

Defeat People True Unity
Students must have initiative; they should not be mere imitators. They must learn to think and act for themselves – and be free.
CESAR CHAVEZ

Freedom Learning Student Thinking
There’s no turning back. We will win. We are winning because ours is a revolution of mind and heart.
CESAR CHAVEZ

Heart Mind Ourselves Revolution Win
We must understand that the highest form of freedom carries with it the greatest measure of discipline.
CESAR CHAVEZ

Discipline Freedom Greatness Understand
If we are full of hatred, we can’t really do our work. Hatred saps all that strength and energy we need to plan.
CESAR CHAVEZ

Hate Planning Strength

Years of misguided teaching have resulted in the destruction of the best in our society, in our cultures and in the environment.

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Years of misguided teaching have resulted in the destruction of the best in our society, in our cultures and in the environment.

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Popular Authors

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