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Dolores Huerta, the historic leader of the Latino civil rights movement in the United States, died at the age of 96.
This was reported by his family this Wednesday through social networks.
"We are deeply saddened to announce that our beloved mother, Dolores Huerta, has passed away today at the age of 96," reads a message shared on Instagram.
"As you can imagine, this is an incredibly difficult time for us, and we ask that our privacy be respected as we work through this enormous loss," the text continues.
"We know that many of you around the world share our grief, and we will move forward to pay tribute and celebrate his incredible life and legacy."
Family spokesman Erik Olvera confirmed to the Los Angeles Times that the cause of death was cancer.
A progressive and feminist, Huerta co-founded in the 1960s what is today the largest agricultural workers union in the country, the United Farm Workers (UFW).
He launched her alongside another icon of the civil rights movement, the late César Chávez, whom Huerta had recently accused of raping her.
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He did so in March, in reaction to an investigation by The New York Times that suggested that Chávez had manipulated and abused young women and minors around the movement he led from the 1960s until his death in 1993.
Huerta kept her busy schedule virtually until the end of her life, participating in protests and speaking in cities across the country about race, poverty, immigrant worker rights, the LGBTQ+ community, and women's rights.
In 2003, together with her three daughters, she created the Dolores Huerta Foundation based in the Central Valley of California, an emblematic place for the struggle of US agricultural workers.
Huerta's determination cemented her place in history as one of the country's most influential labor leaders, civil rights icon, and feminist activist.
The slogan that accompanied him throughout his life, "Yes, we can", reflects the belief that he maintained throughout his life in the ability of people to generate change.
His work over the decades earned him numerous awards, including the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the country's highest civilian honor.
When then-President Barack Obama presented her with the award in 2012, he praised Huerta as a tenacious leader and joked that he had borrowed her slogan for his 2008 campaign.
Decades of activism
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Born on April 10, 1930, in Dawson, a mining and farming community in New Mexico, Huerta grew up in Stockton, California, where her mother managed a hotel and restaurant.
With a social conscience from a young age, he began his work at the Community Service Organization (CSO), where he fought against segregation, police brutality and promoted voter registration.
In 1962 he co-founded the National Farm Workers Association (NFWA), precursor of the United Farm Workers (UFW), along with César Chávez and Gilbert Padilla.
With them he participated in the historic grape strike in Delano (1965) and led boycott campaigns that achieved labor improvements for agricultural workers.
At the head of the union, Huerta promoted laws that allowed driving tests in Spanish, the elimination of the Bracero Program and promoted rights for low-income families.
As soon as the news was known, UFW published a message on X honoring the legacy of its founder.
"The Union of Peasant Workers mourns the death of and celebrates the life of Dolores Huerta," the text reads.
"The greatest possible tribute to his life is that his organizational work continues," he continues. "Our greatest monument to his memory is that the union he helped found continues to grow. We know that wherever farm workers come together to organize, we can count on his presence."
The message ends with "Long live Dolores Huerta!"
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The governor of California, Gavin Newsom, and his partner, Jennifer Siebel, praised Huerta's figure, describing her as "the best among all of us" and recognizing that she paved the way for generations.
The state ordered flags to fly at half-staff in his honor.
For his part, California Democrat Josh Harder, who represents the San Joaquin Valley in the House of Representatives, described her as "a giant."
The mayor of Los Angeles, Karen Bass, also wanted to honor his memory.
"Today, we have lost an icon. Dolores Huerta was an extraordinary woman, a courageous leader who fought for civil rights and promoted the labor movement for decades," Bass wrote.
"Dolores inspired many of us to get involved in activism. I admired her from a very young age, and it was an incredible honor and privilege not only to know and treat her, but also to be able to call her a friend. She inspired me in difficult times and taught me to never give up. She supported me in every campaign and challenge I faced," added Bass, who is competing for mayor of the Californian city with socialist Democrat Nithya Raman.
"His work with farm workers changed our state and our nation," the text continues. But "it didn't stop there. Dolores took the fight to all areas where people were denied a voice."
Officials and public figures from other parts of the country also wanted to highlight his legacy.
"Dolores Huerta spent her entire life fighting for others. Her impact on Arizona, on the Latino community and on our entire country is immeasurable. We owe a lot to her bravery and her leadership. Her legacy will live on for generations," said Kris Arizona Attorney General Mayes.
The accusations against César Chávez
"My silence ends here," began the statement that Huerta published in March of this year after The New York Times brought to light a report pointing out Chávez for alleged abuses against minors.
In its investigation, the newspaper compiled the accusations of several women, now adults, who kept silent about the abuse they suffered as children for decades, out of shame, but also out of fear of raising their voices against an emblematic figure for the Latin community.
"I am almost 96 years old and for the last 60 years I have kept a secret because I believed that exposing the truth would harm the peasant movement for which I have fought all my life," Huerta herself acknowledged, with the same logic.
"I had experienced sexual abuse and violence before, and I convinced myself that these were incidents that I had to endure alone and in secret," explained the union member, who said she became pregnant after two forced sexual encounters with Chávez.
Image source, Tribune News Service via Getty Images
"I chose to keep my pregnancies secret and, after the children were born, I arranged for them to be raised by other families who could give them stable lives."
The allegations sparked outrage among citizens, community leaders and elected officials, and a call for closer scrutiny of a figure after whom streets and parks across the U.S. and even a commemorative holiday have been named.
"Now I understand that I am a survivor, of violence, of sexual abuse, of dominant men who saw me and other women as property or objects that they could control," Huerta said.
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