Quotes
By César E. Chávez
“Our mother used to say there is a difference between being of
service and being a servant…mother taught us not to be afraid to
fight—to stand up for our rights. But she also taught us not to be
violent.” “We draw our strength from the very despair in which we find we have
been forced to live. We shall endure.”
“There is so much human potential wasted by poverty, so many
children are forced to quit school and go to work.”
“My motivation to change these injustices came from my personal life
… from watching what my mother and father went through when I was
growing up; from what we experienced as migrant farm workers in
California.” “It’s ironic that those who till the soil, cultivate and harvest
fruits and vegetables and other foods that fill your tables with
abundance have nothing left for themselves.”
“When you have people together that believe in something very
strongly, whether it be politics, unions or religion — things
happen.” “There is no turning back. We are winning because ours is a
revolution of the mind and the heart.”
“There is enough love and good will in our movement to give energy
to our struggle and still have plenty left over to break down and
change the climate of hate and fear around us.”
“The fast is a very personal and spiritual thing, and it is not done
out of recklessness. It’s not done out of a desire to destroy
yourself, but it is done out of a deep conviction that we can
communicate with people, either those that are for us or against us,
faster and more effectively spiritually than any other way.”
“Our struggle is not easy. Those that 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 own bodies and spirits and the justice of our cause as our
weapons.”
“Once social change begins, it cannot be reversed. You cannot
uneducate the person who has learned to read. You cannot humiliate
the person who feels pride. You cannot oppress the person who is not
afraid anymore. We have looked into the future and the future is
ours.”
“When we are really honest with ourselves we must admit that our
lives are all that really belong to us. So, it is how we use our
lives that determine what kind of [people] we are. It is my
deepest belief that only by giving our lives do we find life.”
“I am convinced that the truest act of courage, the strongest
act of manliness, is to
sacrifice ourselves for others in a totally non-violent struggle
for justice. To be [human]
is to suffer for others. God help us to be human.”
“We are tired of words, of betrayals, of indifference …the years
are gone when the farm
worker said nothing and did nothing to help himself…now we have
new faith. Through
our strong will, our movement is changing these conditions…we
shall be heard.” “We draw our strength from the very despair in which we have
been forced to live. We shall endure.”
“Non-violence is not inaction. It is not discussion. It is not
for the timid or weak … Nonviolence
is hard work. It is the willingness to sacrifice. It is the
patience to win.” “We need to help students and parents cherish and preserve the
ethnic and cultural
diversity that nourishes and strengthens … this nation.”
“However important the struggle is and however much misery and
poverty and
degradation exists we know that it cannot be more important than
one human life.” “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.”
“Students must have initiative; they should not be mere
imitators. They must learn to
think and act for themselves and be free.”
“A lasting organization is one in which people will continue to
build, develop and move when you are not there.” About César E. Chávez
“You and your valiant fellow workers have demonstrated your
commitment to righting grievous wrongs forced upon exploited people.
We are together with you in spirit and determination that our dreams
for a better tomorrow will be realized.” – Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Senator Robert F. Kennedy noted that
César Chávez was “one of the
heroic figures of our time.”
President Bill Clinton said that Chávez “faced formidable, often
violent opposition with dignity and nonviolence.” |
