Dolores Huerta: Activist, Mother, and Inspiration
By Jasica Gill
It is no secret that the dominant narrative constantly tells us that men are at the center of everything, even social change. When we hear about migrant workers, specifically Latinx farmworkers, and who championed their rights, many folks often think of Cesar Chavez. However, as is the case with most things, a fiery, committed, and visionary woman is often left out of the story. In this case we want to highlight Dolores Huerta, an activist, mother, educator, and agent of change in this country.
Dolores Huerta, an Aries through and through, was born on April 10th, 1930 in Dawson, New Mexico. Huerta is the daughter of Juan Hernandez and Alicia Chavez, both of whom contributed to Huerta’s early introduction into activism and social change. Huerta’s father was a farmer, miner, and union activist. With a farmer for a father, she was no stranger to the poor working conditions he and his counterparts endured, and thus understood early in her life that something must be done to remedy this. Her mother was one of the first women in Huerta’s life to exhibit the importance of being involved in community and finding ways to serve those around you. Huerta’s mother modeled how to be a proponent for change and compassion for her daughter early on by owning a hotel specifically geared toward housing farm workers and their families for low prices, and oftentimes for free.
Although born in New Mexico, Huerta and her mother moved to Stockton, California in 1936 after her parents divorced. Two years later, Huerta would go on to join Stockton’s Girl Scout Troop 8, at the age of 8 years old. She remained part of the troop until she was 18 years old, and still speaks highly of the impact being a Girl Scout had on her as a young girl finding her place in the world. Even while living in a racially diverse neighborhood such as Stockton, CA, Huerta faced racism early in her life as a teenager, specifically in school. In high school she was accused of cheating and given a “C” in her English class, regardless of the fact that most of her papers had been given an “A”. Huerta was told that it wasn’t credible that the “A” work she turned in was her own, because there was no way someone like herself could produce such quality work. Although it wasn’t explicitly stated, Huerta understood this to be based on her being Latina, which would further influence her politics and life as an activist throughout her adulthood.
After high school, Huerta would go on to get a teaching credential and become an elementary school teacher. Here, she would come to once again face the harsh realities that children of farmworkers faced. She recalls often seeing her students coming to school hungry, and lacking basic necessities like shoes. Huerta would come to realize that although teaching is one way to change the conditions in her community, she would be better suited for being on the front lines of organizing as an activist.
Huerta organizing marchers on the second day of March Coachella in Coachella, CA 1969. © 1976 George Ballis / Take Stock / The Image Works.
In 1955, Huerta became one of the founding members of a grassroots organization called Community Service Organizations, started by Fred Ross. Through her involvement in CSO, Huerta got her first taste of large scale organizing and activism. CSO provided support in many ways to farm workers, but the organization’s priorities were to get as many farm workers to register to vote. The organizers hoped that they could try and affect change in the system by getting folks to vote for those who represented their communities and held their best long term interests. Police brutality, disability and unemployment insurance, and segregation became additional issues that Huerta would lobby for on behalf of CSO. Through working with CSO and seeing the continued mistreatment and unethical conditions under which the farm workers were forced to work, Huerta was inspired to start the Agricultural Workers Association in 1960.
By 1961, Huerta had affected real change by making it possible for non-citizens to still have access to pension and public assistance programs as long as they were legal U.S residents. Huerta understood the idea of equity over equality and knew it wasn’t just enough to get farm workers and Latinx folks in general to vote, but be able to do it in a way that is most beneficial for them. She urged, and succeeded in getting legislation passed that would ensure that folks could vote in Spanish and be able to take tests such as driver license tests in their own language. It is important to note that Huerta’s activism succeeds not only because she has great ideas, but because she is committed to following them through to their execution.
Huerta had a large hand in what is now known as the “Delano Grape Strike,” a strike where 5,000 grape workers left their posts in the field in 1965. Cesar Chavez and Huerta worked alongside each other in order to see this strike through. What began as Chavez and Huerta’s effort to organize farm workers, mainly from Latinx communities turned into Filipino and Latinx farmworkers joining forces in the grape strike. The strike’s objective was to demand higher wages from the grape growers in the Delano region. The strike lasted for five long years, but was successful: grape growers were finally able to negotiate with the National Farm Workers Association for an increase in minimum wage. Along with a pay raise, a fund was created to ensure that workers would have access to low-cost housing. Paid holidays and vacations, unemployment insurance eligibility, and putting an end to exposure to deadly pesticides were also among the victories achieved through the Delano Grape Strike.
Huerta continued her activism even when it put her in dangerous and violent situations. In 1988, Dolores Huerta was the victim of grotesque police brutality while protesting and spreading awareness about the harm that pesticides were causing. The police assaulted her and left her with 6 broken ribs. Although it took her months to recover, Huerta found a way to use this traumatic incident to demand change in crowd control policy and urged the prohibition of SWAT teams at demonstrations.
Photo by: Amanda Lopez
Today, Huerta continues to push for change and advocate for Latinx people and other marginalized communities who suffer at the hands of oppressive systems. Huerta was recently arrested on August 20th while advocating for in-home care providers who haven’t “received a decent wage increase in the past 10 years” (Huerta). Through the Dolores Huerta Foundation, her efforts to empower and engage folks to get involved in their community and activism continues. Dolores Huerta is a living testament to the importance of committing to social change and the work that is required in order to see results. Huerta makes it a point to focus on more than her immediate community; she extends her efforts to include all marginalized groups and unifies them in the fight for change. In an interview with the Journal Committed to Social Change on Race and Ethnicity, Huerta spoke about the importance of anti-racism and how centering anti-racist ideals is at the root of solving several issues of injustice and inequity. She also emphasizes that educators must begin the work of talking about anti-racism as a part of their curriculum, highlighting the importance of teaching ethnic studies courses in K-12 schools.
Huerta inspires us to look toward our community and within ourselves and ask what can we do to affect change around us. How can we uplift and provide resources for those who have been and continue to be failed by our government and those in power? Huerta shows us that activism is a life-long commitment- not a hobby, or a means to gain recognition. If we, like Huerta, truly commit to activism and organizing, we can believe (through stories like hers!) that our lives and actions will serve as a positive force in a world desperately in need of compassion and change.