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Quote by Cesar Chavez

“There is a great fear of our Union - a fear that I do not fully understand, but that I know is present...What is it that causes some men to act so hastily and so cruelly? It cannot be that we are so powerful. Is it so much to ask that the poorest people of the land have a measure of justice?”

Quote by Cesar Chavez

Author

Cesar Chavez was a prominent civil rights activist who dedicated his life to advocating for the rights of farm workers in the United States. Born on March 31, 1927, in Yuma, Arizona, Chavez grew up in a migrant farmworker family and experienced firsthand the hardships faced by agricultural laborers. He co-founded the National Farm Workers Association (NFWA) in 1962, which later became the United Farm Workers (UFW). Through nonviolent protest, boycotts, and strikes, Chavez fought for fair wages, better working conditions, and improved living standards for farm workers. His efforts led to significant changes in the agricultural industry and inspired countless others to join the fight for social justice. more

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“We are confident. We have ourselves. We know how to sacrifice. We know how to work. We know how to combat the forces that oppose us. But even more than that, we are true believers in the whole idea of justice. Justice is so much on our side, that that is going to see us through.”

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Author:Cesar Chavez

“We shall strike. We shall organize boycotts. We shall demonstrate and have political campaigns. We shall pursue the revolution we have proposed. We are sons and daughters of the farm workers' revolution, a revolution of the poor seeking bread and justice.”

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“In the no-nonsense school of adversity, which we did not choose for ourselves, we are learning how to operate a labor union.”

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Book:An Organizer's Tale: Speeches

Source: An Organizer's Tale: Speeches

“The road to social justice for the farm worker is the road of unionization. Our cause, our strike against table grapes and our international boycott are all founded upon our deep conviction that the form of collective self-help, which is unionization, holds far more hope for the farm worker than any other single approach, whether public or private. This conviction is what brings spirit, high hope and optimism to everything we do.”

“We know what unions have done for other people. We have seen it and we have studied and we have cherished the idea of unionism. We have seen the history and development of unions in this country and we tell the growers that we want nothing more, but that we want our own union and we are going to fight for it as long as it takes.”

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Author:Cesar Chavez

“...So they are trying to do something about it. They are not doing it by seeking charity. They are not begging at the welfare office. They are not, like many of their employers, lobbying the halls of Congress with their gold plated tin cups asking to be paid for not growing crops. They are trying to do it in the way that millions of other Americans have shown is the right way-organization, unionism, collective bargaining.”

“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.”

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Author:Cesar Chavez

“I'm not going to ask for anything unless the workers want it. If they want it, they'll ask for it.”

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Author:Cesar Chavez

“There are many reasons for why a man does what de does. To be himself he must be able to give it all. If a leader cannot give it all he cannot expect his people to give anything.”

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Author:Cesar Chavez

“These observations tie in directly with the whole question of organizing. Why do we have leaders? We put some people out in the fields and all of a sudden they hit, they click. Everyone's happy with them and they begin to move mountains. With other people there are problems and heartaches. They just don't go. When we look and see what's happening, almost invariably the differences are along the lines of willingness to sacrifice and work long hours.”