A civil rights hero whose influence is felt in nearly every part of California’s fabric, Dolores Huerta passed away at her Bakersfield home surrounded by family on Wednesday, October 28.
Huerta is primarily known for her work as a political organizer and cofounder of United Farm Workers, but her commitment to public service stretched deeply into the state’s public education system, including as a UC regent appointed by Gov. Gray Davis in 2003.
Dolores Huerta
Huerta graduated from Stockton High School in 1947 and started her career as a teacher in the Central Valley. One of the few bilingual teachers in the rural area she served, Huerta was driven to help organize farmworkers in the area by watching her students come in day after day without the proper resources to learn. “I couldn’t tolerate seeing kids come to class hungry and needing shoes,” Huerta was quoted as saying in a 2008 book. “I thought I could do more by organizing farm workers than by trying to teach their hungry children.”
Huerta quickly became one of the leading organizers among rural labor organizations in California, which eventually coalesced into her cofounding of United Farm Workers. Through protests and marches, including the Delano grape boycott, and tireless negotiation — one of her most notable skills — Huerta helped secure improvements to working conditions and pay for farmworkers, relentlessly championing human dignity.
A symbol of courage revered by Californians across the state, Huerta became a prominent champion of marginalized voices in leadership, particularly those of Latina women.
In her many visits to UC campuses late in life, Huerta exhorted students of all backgrounds to fight for a better world. Huerta delivered commencement speeches at UC Davis, UCLA and UC Santa Cruz, was a 50th Anniversary Muir Honorary Environmental Fellow at UC San Diego, a Distinguished Community Scholar in Chicana/o Studies at UCLA, and a distinguished lecturer in the humanities at UC Merced, among other roles.
UC Santa Cruz renamed their Research Center for the Americas after Dolores Huerta in 2022 with Huerta in attendance, where she led the crowd in her iconic chant of “Sí, se puede,” or “Yes, it can be done,” words that have instilled hope in millions not just in California, but around the world.
Recalling to the Independent a visit Huerta made to campus in 2024, Ana Padilla, executive director of the Community and Labor Center at UC Merced, noted her impact on the students in attendance who were moved by the civil rights icon taking the time to hear the stories of those more than 70 years her junior.
“It was transformative,” Padilla said. “Something that I heard a lot from students in particular was just how accessible she was. That’s just what made Dolores a natural organizer, just an ability to connect immediately with really anyone.”
Huerta received the UCLA Medal, the campus’ highest honor, in 2009. California Gov. Newsom proclaimed April 10 Dolores Huerta Day in 2019, and flags will be flown at half-mast in her honor.
Read more:
UC Santa Cruz: Dolores Huerta Will Always Be With Us. ¡Presente!
