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

We must understand that the highest form of freedom carries with it the greatest measure of discipline.

I would not take one cup of coffee from a grower...There's not a good one. I hate them. A few presents, a little talk, then the noose. That's how capitalism works.

The only ones who make things change are fanatics. If you're not a fanatic around here, you can't cut it.

In non-violence the cause has to be just and clear as well as the means.

In 1968, I became a vegetarian after realizing that animals feel afraid, cold, hungry, and unhappy like we do.

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