Cesar Chavez

"To make a great dream come true, the first requirement is a great capacity to dream; the second is persistence."

—Cesar Chavez (1927-1993)

"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 (1927-1993)

"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 (1927-1993)

"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 (1927-1993)

"The people united will never be defeated."

—Cesar Chavez (1927-1993)

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

—Cesar Chavez (1927-1993)

"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 (1927-1993)

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

—Cesar Chavez (1927-1993)

"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."

—Cesar Chavez (1927-1993)

"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 (1927-1993)

"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."

—Cesar Chavez (1927-1993)

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

—Cesar Chavez (1927-1993)

"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."

—Cesar Chavez (1927-1993)

"It's amazing how people can get so excited about a rocket to the moon and not give a damn about smog, oil leaks, the devastation of the environment with pesticides, hunger, disease. When the poor share some of the power that the affluent now monopolize, we will give a damn."

—Cesar Chavez (1927-1993)

"Once social change begins, it cannot be reversed."

—Cesar Chavez (1927-1993)