Dolores Huerta, an overlooked female civil rights icon, was born on April 10, 1930, in Dawson, New Mexico. To this day, she continues to carry her work by advocating for the rights of the poor, women, and children. However, her childhood years were arduous as her family struggled to feed her two brothers and her. At three, her parents, Juan and Alicia Fernandez divorced, and Alicia whisked away from her family to Stockholm, California to begin a new life.
They settled in a farming community in San Joaquin Valley where Alicia had to work two jobs to provide for her family as a waitress and cannery worker. Huerta’s grandfather, Herculano Chavez, took care of the children and to play the imperative male role model in Huerta’s life. Alongside struggling to pay the entire funds for her family, Alicia provided music lessons and extracurricular activities for her children. Dolores took up lessons in violin, piano, and dance. She was a Girl Scout until the age of 18. Alicia’s encouragement to integrate oneself into the community, and her compassion towards other farmers, influenced Huerta’s ideals and values as she grew up. Huerta was an excellent student, winning second place in a competitive national essay contest. Unfortunately, there was a time when Huerta had a teacher who prejudiced against Hispanics and accused Huerta of cheating on her essay because she thought Huerta could not produce such a well-written piece. She mistreated at school by her peers because she was Hispanic and came from a farm worker’s family, as many other Mexicans and Mexican Americans were treated. These experiences and influences from her mother catalyzed Huerta’s future endeavors to fight for the protection and rights of farmworkers.
Dolores Huerta graduated from Stockton High School in 1947 and received an associate’s degree in teaching from the University of Pacific Delta’s College. While she was a college student, she married Ralph Head and had two daughters with him. The marriage ended in a divorce. After experimenting with various jobs that did not satisfy her, Huerta went back to school and completed her teaching degree at Stockton College. Briefly, she worked as an elementary school teacher in the 1950s. However, she could not stomach witnessing the poor living conditions her students came from, many of them being farmworkers. She decided that instead of teaching, she could give the families of farmworkers more succor by organizing farmers, and so she began her journey in the life of activism.
In 1955, Huerta and Fred Ross created the Community Services Organization (CSO). This grassroots group led voter registration drives and strived to end police brutality, discrimination against Hispanics, and improve the socio-economic conditions of farmworkers. In 1960, Huerta founded the Agricultural Workers Association (AWA) that furthered her cause of gaining rights for farmers. She lobbied for politicians to allow migrant workers within the US to receive free help and pensions, even if they were not a US citizen. She also pressed for voting ballots and driving tests to be written in Spanish to create more opportunities for Hispanics in the US. During her time working for the AWA, Huerta met Cesar Chavez, both of them having similar interests in organizing farmworkers. In 1962, Huerta and Chavez lobbied for CSO to expand its efforts to help farmworkers. However, the organization was too involved in urban issues and could not move in that direction. Dissatisfied, Huerta, and Chavez left the CSO and established the National Farm Workers Association (NWFA).
Later, the NWFA changed to the United Farm Workers (UWF), Huerta being the vice president. They were a dynamic duo as Chavez was an influential leader and adept speaker and Huerta a skilled organizer and tenacious negotiator. Huerta overcame the obstacles of gender and ethnic bias and organized the impactful 1965 Delano Grape Strike. She held over 5,000 grape workers to fight for wages equivalent to the federal minimum wage through the boycott of a wine company, rallies, marches, and other nonviolent resistance methods. This movement garnered national attention for the hardships and overlooked issues that farmers faced. Huerta’s impetus and efforts behind the strikes led to a successful union contract in 1970.
Then in 1973, Huerta merged the UFW and AWA to form the United Farm Workers Organizing Committee. With her participation in this committee, Huerta negotiated for fair contracts for farmers, safer working conditions, and increased the number of jobs available to farmers. She led another consumer boycott of grapes that resulted in the revolutionary California Agricultural Labor Relations Act of 1975, allowing farmworkers to create unions and fight for better wages and working conditions. The improved working conditions included a reduction in using pesticides and launched unemployment and healthcare benefits. Around this time, Huerta coined the phrase “Si, Se Puede”, meaning yes; we can, to encourage union members to pummel through their struggles.
Throughout the 70s and 80s, Huerta continued to use her power as the vice president of UWF to lobby for increased farm worker representation in the legislative branch. In 1988, Huerta nearly lost her life protesting at a rally when San Franciscan police flailed her, giving her six broken ribs and a ruptured spleen. This life-threatening event did not stop Huerta from striving to change the country. Instead, it further motivated her to pursue her intentions of seeing justice for farmworkers. During the 1990s and early 2000s, Huerta elected more Latinos and women to political office and advocated for women’s rights.
Her immense efforts to bring social equality and justice have received recognition. Huerta earned the Ellis Island Medal of Freedom Award and was initiated into the National Women’s Hall of Fame in 1993. In 1998, she received the Eleanor Roosevelt Human Rights Award and the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 2012. In 2002, she used the $100,000 she earned from the Puffin Prize for Creative Citizenship to found the Dolores Huerta Foundation, the sole purpose being to give training and organizing skills to low-income communities. Her fierce yet sympathetic nature and intense drive to make the world the right place regardless of birth origin or income level is admirable. She did not allow her gender, nor her Hispanic heritage, to hinder her from achieving insurmountable wins for farmer families and low-income families in America.
“Every moment is an organizing opportunity, every person a potential activist, every minute a chance to change the world.” - Dolores Huerta
Researcher: Divya Pothula
Writer: Sumiya Miah
Editor: Pia Jemin Mehta
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