63 Powerful César Chávez Quotes
Inside: Quotes from the labor right activist César Chávez.
Featured Image: “Cesar Chavez National Monument” (CC BY 2.0) by ray_explores
Cesar Chavez (1927-1993) was a labor leader and civil rights activist, best known for his tireless efforts to improve the working conditions and rights of farm workers in the United States.
He was born into a Mexican-American family in Yuma, Arizona, but later moved to the farming community of California. He witnessed the injustices faced by farm laborers firsthand. Together with Dolores Huerta, he founded the National Farm Workers Association (NFW), later known as United Farm Workers (UFW) union.
Their rallying cry, “Sí, se puede” (“Yes, it can be done”), became a symbol of hope and empowerment for marginalized communities. This phrase became even more famous when Barack Obama borrowed the quote when campaigning for president.
Chavez’s legacy is deeply rooted in his commitment to nonviolent activism. He organized boycotts, and marches to raise awareness about the plight of farmworkers and to pressure growers, and held personal hunger strikes. One of his most notable campaigns was the Delano grape strike and boycott, which brought international attention to the struggles of agricultural laborers.
Chavez’s leadership style was marked by his emphasis on grassroots organizing and community engagement. He believed in the power of ordinary people to effect meaningful change through collective action. His dedication to nonviolence and civil disobedience drew inspiration from Mahatma Gandhi and Martin Luther King Jr., shaping his approach to social justice movements.
This collection of quotes give insight into his deep convictions and personal humility, along with his fierce determination to center his life on making the lives of farm workers better.
Content:
1. Famous César Chávez Quotes
2. César Chávez Quotes on Farm Workers
3. César Chávez Quotes on Non-Violence
4. César Chávez Quotes on Organizing
5. César Chávez Quotes on Education
6. César Chávez Quotes on Faith
7. More César Chávez Inspiring Quotes
Related: Dolores Huerta Quotes
César Chávez 10 Most Famous Quotes
Here are some of the best-known and best-loved phrases by Chávez.
1. “Preservation of one’s own culture does not require contempt or disrespect for other cultures.”
– César Chávez
2. “The whole world is watching how we behave here in this little pueblo.”
– César Chávez
3. “The fight is never about grapes or lettuce. It is always about people.”
– César Chávez
4. “A friend once asked me what the story was behind a favorite saying of mine, ‘Sí, se puede’ [‘Yes, it can be done’]. ‘Why,’ my friend asked, ‘do you say “It can be done” when everybody knows it can’t be done?’ I told my friend, ‘That’s exactly why I say it. Because it can be done.'”
– César Chávez
5. “We draw our strength from the very despair in which we have been forced to live. We shall endure.”
– César Chávez
6. “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.”
– César Chávez
7. “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.”
– César Chávez
8. “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.”
– César Chávez
9. “To make a great dream come true, the first requirement is a great capacity to dream; the second is persistence.”
– César Chávez
10. “It is my deepest belief that only by giving our lives do we find life.”
– César Chávez
5 César Chávez Quotes on Farm Workers
1. “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.”
– César Chávez
2. “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.”
– César Chávez
3. “I remember with strong feelings the families who joined our movement and paid dues long before there was any hope of winning contracts. Sometimes, fathers and mothers would take money out of their meager food budgets just because they believed that farm workers could and must build their own union. I remember thinking then that with spirit like that… we had to win. No force on earth could stop us.”
– César Chávez
4. “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.”
– César Chávez
5. “Our opponents in the agricultural industry are very powerful and farm workers are still weak in money and influence. But we have another kind of power that comes from the justice of our cause.”
– César Chávez
10 César Chávez Quotes on Non-Violence
1. “Non-violence is not inaction. It is not discussion. It is not for the timid or weak. Non-violence is hard work. It is the willingness to sacrifice. It is the patience to win.”
– César Chávez
2. “The first principle of non-violent action is that of non-cooperation with everything humiliating.”
– César Chávez
3. “Thus, demonstrations and marches, strikes and boycotts are not only weapons against the growers, but our way of avoiding the senseless violence that brings no honor to any class or community. The boycott, as Gandhi taught, is the most nearly perfect instrument of nonviolent change, allowing masses of people to participate actively in a cause.”
– César Chávez, Mary Knoll Magazine
4. “We do not need to kill or destroy to win. We are a movement that builds and not destroys.”
– César Chávez
5. “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.”
– César Chávez
6. “We are also convinced that nonviolence is more powerful than violence. Nonviolence supports you if you have a just and moral cause. Nonviolence provides the opportunity to stay on the offensive, and that is of crucial importance to win any contest.”
– César Chávez, Mary Knoll Magazine
7. “Non-violence exacts a very high price from one who practices it. But once you are able to meet that demand then you can do most things.”
– César Chávez
8. “Non-violence, which is the quality of the heart, cannot come by an appeal to the brain.”
– César Chávez
9. “We advocate militant nonviolence as our means of achieving justice for our people, but we are not blind to the feelings of frustration, impatience and anger which seethe inside every farm worker. The burdens of generations of poverty and powerlessness lie heavy in the fields of America. If we fail, there are those who will see violence as the shortcut to change.”
– César Chávez, Mary Knoll Magazine
10. “We can choose to use our lives for others to bring about a better and more just world for our children. People who make that choice will know hardship and sacrifice. But if you give yourself totally to the non-violence struggle for peace and justice you also find that people give you their hearts and you will never go hungry and never be alone. And in giving of yourself you will discover a whole new life full of meaning and love.”
– César Chávez
10 César Chávez Quotes on Organizing
1. “When you have people together who believe in something very strongly—whether it’s religion or politics or unions—you can accomplish something that’s magical.”
– César Chávez
2. “We are organizers at heart. Most of us in the movement take great pride in being able to put things together.”
– César Chávez
3. “I am an organizer, not a union leader. A good organizer has to work hard and long. There are no shortcuts. You just keep talking to people, working with them, sharing, exchanging and they come along.”
– César Chávez
4. “We don’t need perfect political systems; we need perfect participation.”
– César Chávez
5. “The name of the game is to talk to people. If you don’t talk to people, you can’t get started…You knock on twenty doors or so, and twenty guys tell you to go to hell, or that they haven’t got time. But maybe at the fortieth or sixtieth house you find the one guy who is all you need. You’re not going to organize everything; you’re just going to get it started.”
– César Chávez
6. “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.”
– César Chávez
7. “We’ll organize workers in this movement as long as we’re willing to sacrifice. The moment we stop sacrificing, we stop organizing.”
– César Chávez
8. “Talk is cheap…It is the way we organize and use our lives everyday that tells what we believe in.”
– César Chávez
9. “If you really want to make democracy work, you have to do more than just vote. You have to be willing to work at it.”
– César Chávez
10. “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 people who are not afraid anymore.”
– César Chávez
5 César Chávez Quotes on Education
1. “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?”
– César Chávez
2. “The end of all education should surely be service to others.”
– César Chávez
3. “Students must have initiative; they should not be mere imitators. They must learn to think and act for themselves-and be free.”
– César Chávez
4. “Organizing is an educational process. The best educational process in the union is the picket line and the boycott. You learn about life.”
– César Chávez
5. “Students must have initiative; they should not be mere imitators. They must learn to think and act for themselves – and be free.”
– César Chávez
7 César Chávez Quotes on Faith
1. “Our faith is so uniting and unifying that it overcomes differences between groups. It’s very important to me that all the people I meet feel the bond that exists between us, feel our closeness.”
– César Chávez
2. “In my own thinking, I would stress that the visible community has a very important place in getting the spirit of religion across to people.”
– César Chávez
3. “Our lives are the only meaningful expression of what we believe and in Whom we believe. And the only real wealth, for any of us, lies in our faith.”
– César Chávez
4. “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.”
– César Chávez
5. “Self dedication is a spiritual experience.”
– César Chávez
6. “We must understand that the highest form of freedom carries with it the greatest measure of discipline.”
– César Chávez
7. “When poor people get involved in a long conflict, such as a strike or a civil rights drive, and the pressure increases each day, there is a deep need for spiritual advice. Without it, we see families crumble, leadership weaken, and hard workers grow tired.”
– César Chávez
11 Inspiring César Chávez Quotes
“We need to help students and parents cherish and preserve the ethnic and cultural diversity that nourishes and strengthens this community—and this nation.”
– César Chávez
“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.”
– César Chávez
“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.”
– César Chávez
“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.”
– César Chávez
“Kindness and compassion toward all living things is the mark of a civilized society.”
– César Chávez
“You are never strong enough that you don’t need help.”
– César Chávez
“Our language is the reflection of ourselves. A language is an exact reflection of the character and growth of its speakers.”
– César Chávez
“We don’t have to engage in grand, heroic actions to participate in the process of change. Small acts, when multiplied by millions of people, can transform the world.”
– César Chávez
“In this world it is possible to achieve great material wealth, to live an opulent life. But a life built upon those things alone leaves a shallow legacy. In the end, we will be judged by other standards.”
– César Chávez
We are winning because ours is a revolution of mind and heart.” “Being of service is not enough. You must become a servant of the people. When you do, you can demand their commitment in return.”
– César Chávez
“If you are outraged by conditions, then you have got to do something about it. Otherwise, you are just part of the problem.”
– César Chávez
