Address to the Commonwealth Club of California
Delivered on November 9, 1984, reflecting on twenty years of struggle with the United Farm Workers, declaring that the farmworkers' movement had transformed American society forever.
Full Transcript
Twenty-two years ago, in 1962, I began organizing farm workers. I didn’t start with money or power; I started with a belief in the farm workers themselves.
All my life, I have been driven by one dream, one goal, one vision: to overthrow a farm labor system in this nation which treats farm workers as if they were not important human beings. Farm workers are not agricultural implements; they are not beasts of burden; they are human beings, with minds, souls, and feelings.
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. Our union will fulfill its historic destiny, and also provide the organizing model for other inarticulate, exploited, and invisible workers.
We have looked into the future and the future is ours!
Defining Key Excerpts
"Once social change begins, it cannot be reversed. You cannot uneducate the person who has learned to read."
"We have looked into the future and the future is ours."
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