Dolores Huerta, influential labor leader, feminist and civil rights icon, dies at 96
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Huerta → die → 96
Dolores Huerta, who co-founded the United Farm Workers union to improve working conditions in the nation's fruit and vegetable fields and coined the phrase "Sí, se puede!" that became a widespread rallying cry,
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that → co → phrase
Huerta's family said in a statement through her foundation that she died Wednesday at home.
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she → say → home
She kept a busy schedule well into her 90s, marching in protests and speaking in cities across the country about race, poverty, LGBTQ+ and women's rights on behalf of her Bakersfield, California-based foundation.
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She → keep → foundation
Huerta's 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 three-word Spanish-language slogan — which translates to "Yes, it can be done" — was grounded in the belief that people could affect change.
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people → translate → change
Her work over the decades earned her a number of accolades, including the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the nation's highest civilian honor.
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work → earn → 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
This year, Huerta sent shockwaves through the Latino community when she revealed that she was sexually abused in the 1960s by the farmworker movement's co-founder, César Chavez, leading to the birth of two children, a secret she kept for 60 years and long after he died.
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he → send → years
From the early 1970s on, Huerta's life partner was Richard Chavez, César's brother, and together they had four kids.
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they → have → kids
She also had seven children from two earlier marriages.
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She → have → marriages
Huerta said she had kept 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
When 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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it → ask → secret
I'll say it that way."
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I → say → it
Huerta was born Dolores Clara Fernandez in 1930 in Dawson, New Mexico.
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Huerta → bear → Dawson
Her father was a miner and union activist who went on to win a seat in the state Legislature.
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who → go → Legislature
Her parents divorced when she was 3, and her mother took her and her brothers to California.
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mother → divorce → California
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 → immerse → independence
Huerta was a young, energetic elementary school teacher in the farm-rich San Joaquin Valley when 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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I → think → children
Huerta's 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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it → die → negotiations
On the campaign trail
She 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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She → meet → California
Huerta was on stage with Kennedy after he won the California primary and he publicly thanked her moments before he was shot.
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he → win → her
The assassination devastated Huerta, but she kept organizing for farmworkers' rights.
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she → devastate → rights
Huerta was jailed 22 times for union demonstrating.
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Huerta → jail → demonstrating
In 1988, she was seriously injured while protesting Republican presidential candidate George H.W. Bush's opposition to the UFW grape boycott during his visit to San Francisco.
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she → injure → Francisco
Caught in a crowd, she was struck by a police officer's baton, suffered three broken ribs and a pulverized spleen, and required more than a dozen blood transfusions.
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she → catch → transfusions
She reached a settlement with the city to resolve her claims.
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She → reach → claims
After a long recovery, Huerta shifted focus and hit the road to campaign for women's rights and encourage Latinas to run for office.
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Huerta → shift → office
She also campaigned for Democratic Presidents Bill Clinton, Obama and Joe Biden.
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She → campaign → Clinton
California Gov. Gavin Newsom considered her a close friend.
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her → consider → ?
Fueled by courage
Emilio Huerta, one of Dolores' 13 children, once pointed to his mom's courage during an interview, saying it was one of the most significant drivers of her life's work.
"
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it → fuel → 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 → dedicate → today
That took a lot of guts," he had said.
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he → take → guts
Huerta learned the art of lobbying politicians.
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Huerta → learn → politicians
…and 16 more, not listed.
The Aporia
