Today I start my first hunger strike. There has been a lot of violence against the strikers, so I am fasting with high hopes of ending this violence. “Also, I am fasting for the purification of my own mind and body, and soul. This fast is also a heartfelt prayer for purification and strengthening for all those who work beside me in the farm worker movement. The fast is also an act of penance for those in positions of moral authority and for all men and women activist who know what is right and just, who know that they could and should do more.”