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Dolores Huerta, Labor Leader and Force for Civil Rights, Has Died
Dolores Huerta, the trailblazing labor movement icon who co-founded the United Farm Workers in the 1960s, passed away this week. This tribute remembers Huerta as a “kind of Mexican American folk hero” who changed the world through her nonviolent activism and strategic campaigns. Huerta had a major role in reshaping the labor movement to fight for immigrant workers, particularly migrant farm workers, who were considered powerless and un-organizable. As Vice President of the UFW for more than four decades, Huerta continuously proved those assumptions wrong and helped secure countless wins for the most vulnerable workers. Huerta participated in civil disobedience and nonviolent resistance for numerous social justice causes in partnership with unions and community organizations throughout her life. Earlier this year, Huerta courageously shared that she was a survivor of sexual violence and shed light on past and present gender discrimination within social movements. As a leader and icon, Huerta’s innumerable legacy lives on in the workers, organizers and activists she inspired to continue the fight today.
The New York Times
Robert D. McFadden
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