Dolores Huerta, the influential labor leader and civil rights activist who co-founded the United Farm Workers union and coined the rallying cry "Sí, se puede!" has died at age 96. Her family announced through her foundation that she died Wednesday at home.
Born in New Mexico and raised in California's San Joaquin Valley, Huerta worked as a school teacher before turning to community organizing against segregation and police brutality. She later partnered with César Chavez to establish what became the United Farm Workers of America, dedicating decades to improving conditions for farm laborers.
Huerta's slogan — Spanish for "Yes, it can be done" — reflected her core belief that people could affect change. Her advocacy earned her the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 2012, when then-President Barack Obama called her a tenacious leader and joked he had borrowed her phrase for his 2008 campaign.
Earlier this year, Huerta revealed she had been sexually abused by Chavez in the 1960s, resulting in the birth of two children, a secret she kept for 60 years. She said she stayed silent to protect the movement's progress. Her life partner from the early 1970s was Richard Chavez, César's brother, with whom she had four children; she also had seven children from two earlier marriages.
Even into her mid-90s, Huerta continued marching and speaking nationwide on race, poverty and women's rights through her Dolores Huerta Foundation, urging people to stand firm in fighting for their rights.
Sources: Las Vegas Review-Journal
Original reporting: Las Vegas Review-Journal →
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