Huerta remained active in labor and civil rights until her death
Activists, lawmakers, civil-rights leaders and union officials paid tribute to Dolores Huerta on Wednesday after the labor and civil-rights organizer died at 96. Tributes came from California, where Huerta co-founded the United Farm Workers (UFW) and helped organize the 1965 Delano grape strike, and from political and labor figures across the country.
In San Francisco, people walked past a Día de los Muertos display featuring Huerta’s photograph at an elementary school named for her. Jeff Chiu of AP took the photograph.
Huerta helped organize the 1965 Delano grape strike, a national boycott of table grapes that resulted in better wages and working conditions for grape pickers. She laid the foundations for the UFW in California’s Central Valley. Several schools in California bear her name, murals across the state depict her likeness, and in 2018 the state declared 10 April — her birthday — Dolores Huerta Day.
Her legacy reached beyond California: her portrait hangs at some US embassies, schools in several US states bear her name, and she helped negotiate national immigration policy. Until her death, Huerta remained involved in promoting civil and labor rights in Washington DC and across the US. Tributes described her legacy as national and international.
Teresa Romero, president of the UFW, said, “Our greatest monument to her memory is for the union she helped found to continue to grow. Dolores fought for farm workers to the very end of her life.” Romero said, “The greatest possible tribute to her life is for her work of organizing to continue.”
Hector Sanchez Barba, president of the voter mobilization organization Mi Familia Vota, said, “Her historic rallying cry, ‘Sí, se puede,’ is not just a slogan; it is a living call to action that continues to unite and inspire millions across the world.”
Nancy Pelosi, the former House speaker, said, “Dolores was a dear friend, and we all responded to her rallying cry, ‘Sí se puede,’ which inspired generations of Americans to believe in the power of collective action. May it be a comfort to her family and loved ones that so many mourn their loss and are praying for them at this sad time.”
California Governor Gavin Newsom said, “Dolores Huerta represented the best of us.” He added, “California – and the United States – would not be what we are today without her resolute spirit, her passion for justice and fairness, and her commitment to those overlooked and forgotten.”
Former Vice President Kamala Harris said, “I was blessed to know Dolores for many years and proud to organize alongside my dear friend to champion working families and immigrant rights. I will always be grateful for her support and friendship. We will honor her legacy by continuing the fight for the dignity of every person.”
US Sen. Alex Padilla, who represents California, said, “The best tribute we can pay is to carry on the work, which means standing with workers, defending civil rights and organizing for a more just California.”
Xavier Becerra, the former California attorney general and former US health secretary who is running for governor, said, “¡Adiós, Dolores! You were everywhere. You did everything. If you want to know where a leader will take you, know where they come from. Dolores never let us forget where she came from. Si, se pudo [Yes, we did].”
Alexandria Ocasio Cortez, the New York congressperson, said, “For decades after the Delano Grape Strike, she continued to organize for the rights of working people, women and immigrants. She continued to fight for the idea that when ordinary people come together, they can change the course of history. While we mourn her devastating loss, we will continue her fight to build a country where every worker, regardless of race, gender, or economic status, is treated with dignity.”
Lawmakers thanked Huerta for her efforts to promote female candidates to public office. Eloise Gómez Reyes, the California state senator who brought legislation in 2018 marking 10 April as Dolores Huerta Day, said she was mourning “the loss of someone who profoundly shaped my own life.” “Dolores Huerta taught generations of us that we did not have to accept the world as it was. That ordinary people, working together, could challenge powerful institutions, overcome injustice, and build something better. She didn’t simply open doors for women like me. She taught us that we had the power to open them for others,” Reyes said.
Hilda Solis, a former Democratic congresswoman who became the first Latina to serve in a cabinet position as Barack Obama’s labor secretary, thanked Huerta for her mentorship. “Growing up in the San Gabriel Valley, I rarely saw Latinas in positions of leadership. Dolores was one of the few women who showed me what was possible,” she said. “From the state legislature to Congress and my time serving in President Barack Obama’s cabinet, Dolores remained a constant in my life. We joined demonstrations and rallies, stood with workers fighting for their rights and demanded action when people in power looked away … Dolores understood the importance of showing up, bearing witness and refusing to let the suffering of women go ignored.”
For years, Huerta was considered the second-in-command to UFW co-founder César Chávez, and she spoke about having to fight sexism within the movement and being forced to cede credit to him. Earlier this year, after a New York Times investigation uncovered Chávez’s pattern of sexual abuse of women and girls, Huerta said he had raped her. She explained that she stayed silent because she believed exposing the truth would hurt the farmworker movement she had spent her entire life fighting for.
After Huerta shared her story, she learned that her fear would not bear out. Officials across the US looked to rename streets that once bore Chávez’s name with Huerta’s. Murals centering Chávez were replaced with Huerta’s image or images depicting the larger farmworker movement.
“Her guidance transcended generations, nationalities, and borders. She touched so many people as she fought for justice, peace and equality. She never backed down,” said actor Rosario Dawson, who portrayed Huerta in a 2014 biopic of César Chávez. Dawson, who co-founded the organization Voto Latino, had worked with Huerta to rally voter turnout and at times had openly disagreed with her politics, and called Huerta a “mentor and a beacon of light.” She added, “¡Sí, se puede, Dolores! May we carry your light and joy as we forge the path for new generations.”
The tributes linked Huerta’s legacy to organizing across generations, nationalities and borders. Speakers described her work on labor rights, civil rights, immigration policy and support for women and immigrants. Their central message was also practical: continue the organizing she had spent her life building.