Do you know who Cesar Chavez is? What about Dolores Huerta? Both are powerhouse labor leaders and civil rights activists who fought for rights for farm workers, many of whom were of Latinx origin. They worked together to unionize workers who were making less than $5 a week and toiling away in fields to produce food for the rest of the U.S. Before Chavez and Huerta started, workers were expected to produce a lot or be fired because they were constantly reminded how easily replaceable they were. This mistreatment came with a lot of embedded racism, since most farm workers were immigrants. Dolores helped organize different areas to lead a peaceful protest for better working conditions.
A documentary made in honor of Dolores Huerta and her efforts noted that the worst part about working in the fields were that Americans were told that Mexicans were the best to work the land because they were closer to the ground. That humiliation and degradation made their jobs even more unbearable, but they didn’t have anywhere else to go.
Dolores Huerta uprooted her family and some of her older children when she first started leading protests, and they lived like those farmers because she believed she couldn’t fight for something unless she was living like them. Huerta constantly told her children that they were poor by choice. Her children (who are now adults) said that they knew their mother wasn’t theirs. She belonged to the people and at the time, they didn’t understand what they were fighting for. They didn’t understand why they were forced to be poor, but now they do and they’re grateful for it and her contribution.
When Cesar Chavez and Dolores Huerta did interviews together, Huerta often experienced a lot of sexism from both male and female journalists. They ask Chavez why he chose a woman as his right hand man. Why did he let a woman join the front lines with her? Wasn’t he concerned for her safety? They lived in a time where women needed to be protected, so why wasn’t Chavez protecting her? Chavez always responded that women were such a great force and added so much value to the revolution. It was great to have her because she has a good voice for all. Other questions were more targeted towards Huerta directly. Female journalists asked why she didn’t have the typical girl dreams like going to the spa or getting her nails done. Why wasn’t she a typical woman?
In 1965, the union Chavez and Huerta built took on the Coachella Valley grape growers. Chavez organized the strike and Huerta negotiated contracts. After 5 years, their agreement made history that improved working conditions. Huerta was awarded the Eleanor Roosevelt Award for Human Rights in 1998, the Puffin/Nation Prize for Creative Citizenship in 2002, and the Community of Christ International Peace Award in 2007. She’s also known for coining the phrase, “Si se puede!” or “Yes we can.” She was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom by President Obama in 2012.
Unfortunately, she’s been written out of history books, but that doesn’t mean that she’s not a strong influence on our history and we feel it to this day. She led a revolution and fought for workers’ rights, and again hatred aimed at immigrants and people of color, and for that she deserves recognition.