Last Wednesday, St. Olaf’s Political Awareness Committee welcomed its Fall speaker, Dolores Huerta, an American labor leader and civil rights activist. A recipient of the Eleanor Roosevelt Award for Human Rights from President Bill Clinton in 1998, a recipient of the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 2012 by President Barack Obama, and the first Latina to be inducted into the National Women’s Hall of Fame; this lady is incredibly accomplished, knowledgeable and an amazing role model for women and men.
In her speech, Huerta touched on a variety of topics ranging from racism, to the position of women in today’s society, to the greed of corporations. At the opening of the speech, she spoke about how the US, despite its wealth and principles of equality, is anything but. According to Huerta, America was built by people of color; immigrants and slaves. And the history doesn’t lie.
Not many people know this darker, more oppressive side of American history. In 1882, the California legislature passed the Chinese Exclusion Act, an act that prohibited Chinese people from immigrating to the United States. And it was mostly Scottish and Irish immigrants, alongside slaves who built the White House. But it is not the people’s fault. Instead, according to Huerta, is is the failure of the US schooling system to educate young people on the ethnic history of the US and how that history plays into the problems and tensions we face today.
Saying that she “calls the business section {of the New York Times} the crime report,” Huerta also spoke about economic inequality. In the US, the heavy influence of corporations is hurting not just American laborers but also laborers all over the world. By purchasing goods and services from corporations, the money is rarely invested back into the community but is instead put into the pocket of CEOs and other business elites. So, in her example, if you buy a banana picked in Mexico, the sale of the purchase will not go to the laborer who picked the banana but to corporations such as Dole or Chiquita. On the power of labor unions and the physical labor farmers endure everyday to give us our food, Huerta stated that “there is no reason why the people who are working very hard are not living a comfortable life.”
Near the end of her speech, Ms. Huerta discussed feminism and the state of gender equality. Female representatives account for only 19% of Congress and the US only ranked 70th in the world for its level of gender equality. Huerta believes that societal norms are to blame for the lack of female leaders. Growing up, girls are often exposed to Sleeping Beauty-like ideas that a prince save them and protect them. But as feminists, we all know that we don’t need a prince to protect us.
So, what can we do help create more equality in America? You can vote! It is up to us to get engaged and make change happen. As Huerta said, no one is going to do it for you. And while she recognizes that the road to change is often long and difficult, she urges people not to get discouraged. What we need to remember is that it is us who has the power, the voting power, the people’s power.
If you weren’t able to see Mrs. Huerta’s speech in person, don’t panic! You can find her speech here. Aso, if you are interested in learning more about this amazing woman, check out her organization, the Dolores Huerta Foundation here.
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Article Sources: https://www.whitehousehistory.org/questions/did-slaves-build-the-white-h…