Dolores Huerta is a civil rights activist who fought for farmers rights. Co-founding the United Farm Workers (UFW) with Cesar Chavez, she is known for her saying: “Si, se puede”, meaning “Yes, we can.” On Sept. 29, Huerta visited Sonoma State, and many students honored our special guest speaker and participated in a Q&A directly after. Hosted by Associated Students, this event is truly one of the highlights for Latinx Heritage Month.
Huerta was born in Dawson, a small mining town located in northern New Mexico. The agricultural community where she grew up consisted of Chinese, Japanese, Filipino, Mexican, and African-American. Her father, Juan Hernandez was a union activist who ran for a political office and won a seat in 1938. Her mother, Alicia, welcomed low-wage workers in the hotel and was an active participant in numerous civic organizations. It’s safe to say that the apple doesn’t fall too far from the tree.
In founding the UFW, Chavez and Huerta aimed to help people with their incomes and taxes, register to vote, and organize committees. In 1975, she pushed for the Agricultural Labor Relations Act, which was the first law that gave farmers the right to assemble and negotiate for better working conditions and wages.
Many people came to her for help, and she always raised awareness for other problems going on in the world. By organizing the Delano Grape Strike, Huerta was able to support the Filipinos in unfair working conditions, and about 17 million people participated in a boycott. She supported black people with police brutality and went to their non-violent rallies and protests. In fact, when she was in San Francisco for a protest, she was beaten severely by a police officer which caused broken ribs and the removal of her spleen. However, this didn’t stop her from fighting for justice, but only made her stronger.
Dolores Huerta inspired many people because she sacrificed so much just so that people can be treated the way they deserve to be treated and to always keep fighting. She is so strong for being able to step away from her family for so long just so she can fight for what she believed was right. In the end, she knew in her heart that it would all be worth it.
There are six schools that are named Huerta; they have four in California, one in Texas, and a high school in Colorado. Huerta was inducted into the California Hall of Fame in 2013. Other than her California hall of fame induction, she also received many other numerous awards. She received the Eleanor Roosevelt Human Rights award in 1998, Ms. Magazine’s “One of the Three Most Important Women of 1997”, Ladies Home Journal’s “100 Most Important Women of the 20th Century”, the Puffin Foundation’s Award for Creative Citizenship: Labor Leader Award in 1984, and the Smithsonian Institution’s James Smithson Award. 44th President Barack Obama also awarded Huerta with the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the highest award that can be given to a civilian.
It was an honor for Dolores Huerta to speak with students about her experiences and journey into fighting for civil rights, especially because the school contains a great amount of a Latino representation and heritage here at Sonoma State. Associated Students is in high hopes that Huerta’s will inspire students’ strength to fight for what they believe is right.
