"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."

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

"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."

"Just as Dr. King was a disciple of Gandhi and Christ, we must now be Dr. King's disciples. Dr. King challenged us to work for a greater humanity. I only hope that we are worthy of his challenge."

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

"The love for justice that is in us is not only the best part of our being but it is also the most true to our nature."

"Because we have suffered, and we are not afraid to suffer in order to survive, we are ready to give up everything - even our lives - in our struggle for justice."

"What I do shows people what kind of person I am."

"When you have people together who believe in something very strongly - whether it's religion or politics or unions - things happen."

"[We believe that unions have always been about much more than the industries in which they operate.] The fight is never about grapes or lettuce, ... It is always about people."

"There is enough love and good will in our movement to give energy to our struggle and still have plenty left over to break down and change the climate of hate and fear around us."

"Together, all things are possible"

"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."

"Never, never is it possible to reach someone if you become angry or bitter only love and gentleness can do it. Maybe not this time but maybe the next or the hundredth time."

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

"There's no reason to be non-violent. There's no challenge unless you are living for people."

"You cannot uneducate the person who has learned to read."

"Concentration is inspiration. You must be completely overtaken by your work and your subject. Only then do all your influences and experience come up to the surface."

"I've always maintained that it isn't the form that's going to make the difference. It isn't the rule or the procedure or the ideology, but it's human beings that will make it."

"There's no turning back...We will win. We are winning because ours is a revolution of mind and heart..."

"Only when we have become nonviolent towards all life will we have learned to live well with others."

"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."

"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."

"You cannot oppress the people who are not afraid anymore."

"We have seen the future, and the future is ours."

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

"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."

"Being of service is not enough. You must become a servant of the people. When you do, you can demand their commitment in return."

"In giving of yourself, you will discover a whole new life full of meaning and love."

"Non-violence is not inaction. It is not discussion. It is not for the timid or weak... Non-violence is hard work."

"Kindness and compassion toward all living things is the mark of a civilized society."

"Grant me courage to serve others; For in service there is true life."

"The people united will never be defeated."

"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."

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

"As long as we have a poor country bordering California, it's going to be very difficult to win strikes."

"There is no law for farm labor organizing, save the law of the jungle."

"Without a union, the people are always cheated, and they are so innocent."

"Farm workers are society's canaries. Farm workers - and their children - demonstrate the effects of pesticide poisoning before anyone else."

"If you want to remember me, organize!"

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

"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."

"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."

"What we do know absolutely is that human lives are worth more than grapes and that innocent-looking grapes on the table may disguise poisonous residues hidden deep inside where washing cannot reach."

"Since the Church is to be servant to the poor, it is our fault if that wealth is not channeled to help the poor in our world."

"In some cases non-violence requires more militancy than violence."

"We learned many years ago that the rich may have money, but the poor have time."

"To be a man is to suffer for others. God help us to be men!"

"When we are really honest with ourselves we must admit our lives are all that really belong to us. So it is how we use our lives that determines the kind of men we are."

"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."