Dolores Huerta, arguably the nation's most well-known Latina civil-rights leader, has passed away at 96, her family said in a statement. The labor leader and civil rights activist was the co-founder, with Cesar Chavez, of the United Farm Workers (UFW), the first nationally recognized union for farm workers.An inspiration to generations of Americans, Huerta spent decades fighting labor injustices and political, racial and gender inequality.
Huerta was “the most famous Latina that has ever been in the labor movement, and the renown was well-earned,” said Matthew J.Garcia, professor at Dartmouth College and author of the 2014 book, “From the Jaws of Victory: The Triumph and Tragedy of Cesar Chavez and the Farm Worker Movement.” “She was extraordinary.”In her UFW heyday, Huerta cut a striking figure, a fierce young Latina shouting through a bullhorn, rallying workers and leading marches.
This was a rare sight at a time when Hispanics had yet to become a political force.She was the embodiment of a “Chicana,” a politically active Mexican American woman claiming her own power.Cesar Chavez and Dolores Huerta during a fundraiser in New York in 1975.
Lynn Karlin / Penske Media via Getty Though she was most famous for her leadership in the United Farm Workers, Huerta was committed to social and political activism throughout her life, supporting voting rights, immigrant rights, environmental justice, LGBTQ+ equality and other issues.She was arrested more than 25 times for participating in non-violent civil disobedience activities.
In 2019, at 89, she was arrested while joining a union protest for better pay for home health care workers.She also prominently campaigned for many Democratic candidates.
In 1993 Huerta was the first Latina inducted into the National Women’s Hall of Fame.In 2012, President Barack Obama awarded her the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the nation’s highest civilian honor. For SubscribersFOR SUBSCRIBERSIsrael’s election has ...