Sí, Se Puede: Happy Birthday to Dolores Huerta!
With a background in teaching and a passion for equality, Dolores Huerta is an activist and labor organizer. Huerta is best known for founding the Agricultural Workers Association and co-founding the National Farm Workers Association with César Chávez; she also championed the Agricultural Labor Relations Act and helped organize the Delano Grape Strike of 1965, pivotal moments in the farmworkers rights movement. Her history of working in positions usually held by white men led Huerta to the women’s rights movement, where Huerta and Gloria Steinem advocated for intersectionality in activism. Huerta continues to advocate for equality today, and was a recipient of the Presidential Medal of Freedom and co-chair of the 2017 Women’s March.
On her birthday, we celebrate Huerta’s legacy of hard work and determination.
- “Every moment is an organizing opportunity, every person a potential activist, every minute a chance to change the world.”
- “We as women should shine light on our accomplishments and not feel egotistical when we do. It’s a way to let the world know that we as women can accomplish great things!”
- “We must use our lives to make the world a better place to live, not just to acquire things. That is what we are put on the earth for.”
- “We can’t let people drive wedges between us… because there’s only one human race.”
- “I always thought it was wrong for me to take credit for the work that I did. I don’t think that anymore.”
Perhaps the best quote to celebrate Dolores Huerta’s legacy is the slogan she created for the United Farm Workers of America: Sí, Se Puede (Yes, you can)!