Dolores Huerta

Dolores Clara Fernandez was born in a small mining town in the mountains of northern New Mexico. Her father was a farm worker and miner by trade. He was a union activist who ran for political office and even won a seat in the New Mexico legislature. She was raised in Stockton, California where she lived with her two brothers and their mother, following her parents’ divorce. Her mother’s independence and entrepreneurial spirit inspired her to become a feminist. Her mother was also known for her kindness and compassion towards others. She offered rooms at affordable rates in her 70 room hotel and welcomed low-wage workers in the hotel. Additionally, she was involved in numerous civic organizations and the church. Stockton was a very diverse agricultural community made up of Mexican, Filipino, African-American, Japanese and Chinese working families.

Dolores founded the Agricultural Workers Association, where she set up voter registration drives and pressed local governments for barrio improvements. She soon also partnered with Cesar Chavez and together they launched the National Farm Workers Association. She was instrumental in the enactment of the Agricultural Labor Relations Act of 1975, which was the first law of its kind in the US. It granted farm workers in California the right to collectively organize and bargain for better wages and working conditions

Dolores advocated for entire family participation in the movement. Men, women, and children are put together in the fields picking, thinning and hoeing. She believed that the practice of non-violence was very necessary in providing for the safety of all. Her life and the safety of those around her were in jeopardy on countless occasions. The greatest sacrifice to the movement was made by five martyrs all of whom she knew personally.

In 2012, President Obama awarded Dolores The Presidential Medal of Freedom. This is the highest civilian award in the United States. During her acceptance speech, Dolores said,  “The freedom of association means that people can come together with an organization to fight for solutions to the problems they confront in their communities. The great social justice changes in our country have happened when people came together, organized, and took direct action. It is this right that sustains and nurtures our democracy today. The civil rights movement, the labor movement, the women’s movement, and the equality movement for our LGBT brothers and sisters are all manifestations of these rights. I thank President Obama for raising the importance of organizing to the highest level of merit and honor.”