Quotes from 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.

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

You cannot uneducate the person who has learned to read.

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

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

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.

Sí, se puede!

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.

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

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

When the man who feeds the world by toiling in the fields is himself deprived of the basic rights of feeding, sheltering, and caring for his own family, the whole community of man is sick.

Kristin Hannah

When a man or woman, young, or old, takes a place on the picket line for even a day or two, he will never be the same again.

Viva la huelga [Long live the strike]!

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.

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?

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.

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.

I became a vegetarian after realizing that animals feel afraid, cold, hungry and unhappy like we do. I feel very deeply about vegetarianism and the animal kingdom. It was my dog Boycott who led me to question the right of humans to eat other sentient beings.

Once social change begins, it cannot be reversed. You cannot un-educate the person who has learned to read. You cannot humiliate the person who feels pride. You cannot oppress the people who are not afraid anymore. Cesar Chavez Address to the Commonwealth Club in San Francisco, Nov. 9, 1984

We need, in a special way, to work twice as hard to help people understand that the animals are fellow creatures, that we must protect them and love them as we love ourselves.

We know we cannot be kind to animals until we stop exploiting them -- exploiting animals in the name of science, exploiting animals in the name of sport, exploiting animals in the name of fashion, and yes, exploiting animals in the name of food.

Kindness and compassion towards all living things is a mark of a civilized society. Conversely, cruelty, whether it is directed against human beings or against animals, is not the exclusive province of any one culture or community of people.