By: Noihrita Masud, W*SS Community Engagement Intern
As we get closer to November 6, 2022, the day of the Women*s Initiative for Leadership Development (WILD) Conference, we must know more about our keynote speaker, Dolores Huerta, a renowned civil rights activist. In this ZINE TOTD, we will look at her motivation to fight for intersectional civil rights and her wonderful contributions that have revolutionized the fight for social, political, and economic justice for all farm workers.
She was born on April 10, 1930, in Dawson, a small mining town in the mountains of Northern Mexico which was filled with cultural diversity. Dolores inspired by her cultural roots along with her mother’s passion to initiate compassionate community-based projects pursued her calling for public service in her community. Dolores started her journey in public service within her community as a teacher to inspire and teach young children. However, she soon realized she must do more by acknowledging the intersectional nature of civil rights and continuing community activism to advocate for her students suffering from the consequences of economic injustice.
Recognizing her talent in being able to organize and lead, she continued her work through the Stockton Community Service Organization (CSO). Amidst this involvement, she knew she could mobilize the community and thus, founded the Agricultural Workers Association (AGA), set up voter registration drives, and pressed local governments for barrio improvements (“Dolores Huerta Foundation”). CSO Executive Director César E. Chávez realized that Dolores also shared his common vision of organizing farm workers due to her work in AGA. César and Dolores resigned from CSO and launched the National Farm Workers Association (NFWA) in the spring of 1962 (“Dolores Huerta Foundation”).
Dolores’ organizing skills as a lobbyist were essential to the growth of this budding organization especially in securing Aid For Dependent Families (“AFDC”) and disability insurance for farm workers in the State of California in 1963 (“Dolores Huerta Foundation”). This was a great achievement to initiate change for agricultural workers who supported the backbone of the country yet were barely given equitable resources to protect their human rights and standard of living. She was also crucial in the enactment of the Agricultural Labor Relations Act of 1975 which newly granted farm workers in California the right to collectively organize and bargain for better wages and working conditions as they were not previously allowed to unionize, unlike other professions (“Dolores Huerta Foundation”). As the primary legislative advocate, Dolores became one of the United Farm Workers’ most visible spokespersons.
It is no surprise that Dolores was defying gender norms and roles and impacting not only women in farm work but also, young women everywhere. Soon she understood the impact of this feat of resisting gender barriers and helped with advocacy in the feminist movement to challenge gender discrimination within the farm workers’ movement (“Dolores Huerta Foundation”). Dolores knew how important it was to remain intersectional in her pursuit of justice for underrepresented populations and continued to advocate for all men, women, and children involved in farm work. To have all their voices heard while ensuring safety, she practiced and prioritized non-violence. Non-violence was however not reciprocated by other parties as five lives who were also dedicated to the cause like Dolores lost their lives and Dolores, herself suffered a life-threatening assault by a police officer while protesting the policies of then-presidential candidate George Bush in San Francisco (“Dolores Huerta Foundation”). This led to public outrage which allowed policies to be changed regarding crowd control and police discipline. Following her recovery, she took a leave of absence from the union to focus on women’s rights through the Feminist Majority’s Feminization of Power which encouraged Latinas to run for office; the campaign resulted in a significant increase in the number of women representatives at the local, state, and federal levels (“Dolores Huerta Foundation”). She also served as National Chair of the 21st Century Party founded in 1992 on the principles that women make up “52% of the party’s candidates and that officers must reflect the ethnic diversity of the nation,” (“Dolores Huerta Foundation”). Dolores Huerta continues to work to help develop leaders and advocate for the underrepresented and oppressed. As the founding president of the Dolores Huerta Foundation, she travels across the country to influence legislation that supports equality and defends civil rights. Through the foundation, she also influences leaders of communities, such as that of MSU, to be educated and fight for social justice through effective public policy and grassroots democracy that promotes the personal agency of underrepresented communities and cooperation with them.
It is no surprise that Dolores has been awarded numerous times for her hard work and passion. For instance, she was inducted into the California Hall of Fame in March of 2013 and received numerous awards: The Eleanor Roosevelt Humans Rights Award in l998, Ms. Magazine’s One of the Three Most Important Women of l997, Ladies Home Journal’s 100 Most Important Woman of the 20th Century, The Puffin Foundation’s Award for Creative Citizenship: Labor Leader Award 1984, The Kern County Woman of The Year Award from the California State Legislature, The Ohtli Award from the Mexican Government, The Smithsonian Institution – James Smithson Award, and Nine Honorary Doctorates from Universities throughout the United States (“Dolores Huerta Foundation”). In 2012 President Obama bestowed Dolores with her most prestigious award, The Presidential Medal of Freedom, the highest civilian award in the United States. This award led to a renowned quote of hers where Dolores stated, “The freedom of association means that people can come together in an organization to fight for solutions to the problems they confront in their communities. The great social justice changes in our country have happened when people came together, organized, and took direct action. It is this right that sustains and nurtures our democracy today. The civil rights movement, the labor movement, the women’s movement, and the equality movement for our [LGBTQ+ community] are all manifestations of these rights,” (“Dolores Huerta Foundation”).
It is a true honor and privilege that Dolores Huerta has decided to inspire and motivate us to be better future leaders and compassionate community activists here at MSU at the WILD Conference 2022 on November 6. This year we are focusing on the theme of Amplify: Community, Culture, and Collaboration, and Dolores Huerta perfectly embodies this throughout her life. With her lifelong work focusing on finding common goals and forming unique connections within diverse communities, she has advocated for the underrepresented through the lens of different cultural perspectives, collaboration, and a sense of community. These communities are powerful and meaningful through cultural shared practices and identities which must be celebrated, much like Dolores has by promoting the power and agency of underrepresented communities. Most importantly, she knows that this cannot be accomplished by individuals working alone but rather by collaborating with those who feel voiceless to remind them of their power and the shared goal of improving lives around the world and its diverse communities. Join us in welcoming her warmly and extending our gratitude to her for all that she has done and is continuing to do by registering at the following link: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/womens-initiative-for-leadership-development-conference-2022-tickets-427258229867
Source
“Dolores Huerta Foundation.” Dolores Huerta Foundation, https://doloreshuerta.org/doloreshuerta/. Accessed 25 October 2022.
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