Cesar Chavez: A Prophet of Nonviolence

Originally published in The Wolf, Summer 1993
Featured in Living With the Wolf: Walking the Way of Nonviolence (Pace e Bene Press, 2009)

Some fifty thousand mourners descended upon Delano, California for the funeral of Cesar Chavez. Thousands of others gathered in many other places to commemorate this great leader. The response to his passing could not but leave a deep impression, for Cesar’s life made a very deep and widespread mark upon our current time in history. What is the legacy passed on by this hero of our times? The tributes came from Bill Clinton, Jesse Jackson, the Kennedy family, and Cardinal Roger Mahony, who presided at the funeral, union faithful Dolores Huerta, Cesar’s own sons and the emerging new leadership—all spoke of the impact of Cesar’s charisma on their lives and on our times.

His nonviolence rested in a deep faithfulness to God who can bring about transformation. Cesar was clear that nonviolence is the way of God.Cesar’ss life and work always reflected that he was first a farm worker who spoke from the plight of a very oppressed working group in this affluent country. Few have been known to so take on the plight of the poor. Cesar was next an organizer, founding a union for farm workers and winning the respect and active support of the labor greats of the giant unions. Hispanics hail him as the one who gave them dignity and respect in the land of their origins where they had been excluded from their entitlements. Church spokespersons acclaim Cesar as a prophet: one who told it like it was on behalf of God’s oppressed peoples.

At Pace e Bene we remember that he was most notably a major proponent of nonviolence. At Cesar’s funeral Jesse Jackson ranked Cesar together with Martin Luther King, calling them the great advocates and activists of nonviolence in the history of this country. Like King, Chavez was a student and follower of Gandhi. A close rapport had grown between these two men towards the end of Martin’s life. I had the opportunity to be present at a small commemoration service that Cesar called in Delano the night of King’s assassination. At the time, Cesar expressed feelings of deep bondedness to King and a terrible sense of loss at the passing of such a fellow traveler.

Cesar responded to Gandhi’sassertion that “nonviolence is not passivity in any shape or form. Nonviolence is the most active force in the world.” At King’s death Chavez wrote to his widow: “His nonviolence was that of action—not that of one contemplating action. Because of that, he will always be to us more than a philosopher of nonviolence. Rather, he will be remembered by us as a man of peace.” Cesar insisted, “We must respect all human life, in the cities and in the fields and in Vietnam. Nonviolence is the only weaponthat is compassionate and recognizes each person’s value.” But Cesar described nonviolence for his movement as “aggressive nonviolence.” “Militant nonviolence is our means for social revolution and to achieve justice for our people.”

Perhaps most notable in Cesar Chavez’s pursuit of nonviolence was his call to fasting. Chavez was deeply inspired by Gandhi, and came to know for himself the special purification of fasting, particularly in overcoming violence. At the end of his famous twenty-one day fast in 1968 he said, “I am not completely nonviolent yet, and I know it. That is why I fasted; I felt it was a very personal form of self-testing and of prayer. Anyone could be nonviolent in a monastery. What’s difficult is to be nonviolent in the cause, in the battle for social justice.” I personally recall Cesar sharing his thoughts on that fast not long after it ended. He traveled at great personal cost to be with a small group of us who were fasting to express concern over the war in Vietnam. His sharing of the deep significance of fasting left a lasting impression on me.

Above all, Cesar was a man of intense faith and religious belief. A number of friars who knew him throughout the years were always deeply impressed with his devotion. It was on the occasion of one visit during a friar celebration that he arrived at the idea of making the march on the state capitol at Sacramento a religious procession under the banner of Our Lady of Guadalupe. His nonviolence rested in a deep faithfulness to God who can bring about transformation. Cesar was clear that nonviolence is the way of God. This way included for him a deep respect for all living beings, including animals, and was manifest in his staunch vegetarianism. For him, it was not compatible to eat meat and be in pursuit of nonviolence.

Cesar knew that many “more worldly minded unionists” would leave the union effort, but he was confident that his own people would stay. Seeing the tens of thousands of people pour into Delano through the night vigil before his funeral was witness to this testimony. He has been a major inspiration andteacher of nonviolence for me and for many others. It is my hope that we can continue to plumb the deep richness of his nonviolence as a guide to social transformation in the spirit of the God of nonviolence.

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