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Dolores Huerta, the labor leader and civil rights figure who co-founded the United Farm Workers union, has died at the age of 96.
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who → log → 96
Her family announced her death in a statement issued through her foundation, saying she died Wednesday at home of cancer.
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Huerta spent decades working to improve conditions in the United States’ fruit and vegetable fields.
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She coined the phrase “Sí, se puede!”, which went on to become a widespread rallying cry.
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which → coin → phrase
The three-word Spanish-language slogan, which translates to “Yes, it can be done,” was grounded in her belief that people could affect change.
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people → translate → change
That resolve cemented her place in history as one of the nation's most influential labor leaders, civil rights icons and feminist activists.
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resolve → cement → leaders
Her work over the decades brought her a number of accolades, among them the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the nation's highest civilian honor.
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work → bring → Freedom
When then-President Barack Obama presented the award in 2012, he praised Huerta as a tenacious leader and joked that he had stolen her slogan for his 2008 campaign.
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he → present → campaign
She was the first Latina inducted into the National Women's Hall of Fame, and U.S. universities have given her nine honorary doctorates.
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universities → induct → doctorates
Schools in California, Texas and Colorado bear her name, as do streets, and her image graces many murals.
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But she did not always win favor with more liberal activists.
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In 2016, she endorsed Hillary Clinton rather than Sen. Bernie Sanders of Vermont in the presidential Democratic primary.
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she → endorse → primary
Actor Rosario Dawson, a Sanders supporter who played Huerta in a 2014 movie about César Chavez, said Huerta had become “an instrument of the establishment.”
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Dawson and Huerta eventually reconciled.
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César Chavez allegations
This year, Huerta sent shockwaves through the Latino community when she disclosed that she was sexually abused in the 1960s by the farmworker movement's co-founder, César Chavez, leading to the birth of two children.
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It was a secret she kept for 60 years and long after he died.
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he → keep → years
Huerta said she had stayed silent for so long because she feared that coming forward would compromise her life's work and unravel all the progress made for workers.
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coming → say → workers
Asked during a 2026 interview with the news organization Latino USA about keeping the secret, Huerta said: “It was my personal pain, it was my personal problem and, you know, I think it was worth it because it was my cross to bear.
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I’ll say it that way.”
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From the early 1970s on, her life partner was Richard Chavez, César's brother, and together they had four kids.
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She also had seven children from two earlier marriages.
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Emilio Huerta, one of Dolores' 13 children, once pointed to his mother's courage during an interview, saying it was one of the most significant drivers of her life's work.
“To dedicate your life to building a dream of a union for farmworkers, to take on agriculture, which to this today is still a powerhouse. ...
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which → point → today
That took a lot of guts,” he had said.
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Huerta was born Dolores Clara Fernandez in 1930 in Dawson, New Mexico.
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Her father was a miner and union activist who went on to win a seat in the state Legislature.
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Her parents divorced when she was 3, and her mother took her and her brothers to California.
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Growing up immersed in a melting pot of Mexican, Filipino, African American, Japanese and Chinese working families, Huerta learned from her mother, who owned a restaurant and hotel, about independence, compassion and activism.
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who → grow → independence
She became a young, energetic elementary school teacher in the farm-rich San Joaquin Valley.
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But she decided to answer another calling after growing frustrated by her students' poor living conditions.
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she → decide → conditions
“I couldn’t stand seeing kids come to class hungry and needing shoes,” she said in a 2017 PBS Independent Lens documentary on her life.
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she → stand → life
“I thought I could do more by organizing farmworkers than by trying to teach their hungry children.”
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Her early work with a civil rights group in Stockton resulted in her meeting Chavez.
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her → result → Chavez
The two wanted to focus more on the plight of farmworkers, so in 1962 they started the National Farm Workers Association, which became United Farm Workers of America a few years later.
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which → want → America
She was among those who joined Filipino grape pickers on the picket line in what became the five-year “Delano Grape Strike.”
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what → join → line
With Chavez, she negotiated collective bargaining agreements and contracts with big growers, winning the first health and benefit plans for farmworkers.
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she → negotiate → farmworkers
Chavez, who died in 1993, once described her as fearless, committed to the cause and tough when it came to negotiations.
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Huerta learned the art of lobbying politicians and secured financial aid for the unemployed and disability insurance for California farmworkers.
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Huerta → learn → farmworkers
She spoke out against toxic pesticides, pushed for amnesty for immigrants in the country illegally and fought federal guest worker programs.
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By directing nationwide boycotts of grapes and lettuce in the early 1970s, she helped to create the economic pressure and political climate necessary for California to pass what would be the first state law recognizing farmworkers' right to collective bargaining.
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On the campaign trail
Huerta met U.S. Sen. Robert Kennedy of Massachusetts during his visit to Delano in 1968 and became a volunteer on his presidential campaign, registering Mexican Americans in California to vote.
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…and 18 more, not listed.
The Aporia
