Si se puede-Yes it can be done.
"I couldn't stand seeing kids come to class hungry and needing shoes. I thought I could do more by organizing farm workers than by trying to teach their hungry children."
Dolores receiving Medal of Freedom from President Obama, 2012.
"I would like to be remembered as a woman who cares for fellow humans. 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" (Griswold del Castillo 75).
Dolores Clara Fernandez Huerta (born April 10, 1930) is a labor leader and civil rights activist who, along with César Chávez, co-founded the National Farmworkers Association, which later became the United Farm Workers (UFW).
Courtesy of wikipedia:
Born on April 10, 1930, in the mining town of Dawson, New Mexico, Huerta was the daughter of Juan Fernandez—a miner, field/farm worker, union activist and state assemblyman—and Alicia Chavez.
Huerta was the couple's second child and only daughter; the couple divorced when Huerta was three years old.
Chavez raised Huerta and her two brothers, in the central California farm worker community of Stockton, California. Huerta's mother was known for her kindness and compassion towards others and was active in community affairs, numerous civic organizations, and the church. She encouraged the cultural diversity that was a natural part of Dolores' upbringing in Stockton. Chavez was a businesswoman who owned a restaurant and a 70-room hotel where she welcomed low-wage workers and farm worker families for affordable prices and sometimes even for free.This started Dolores thinking about civil rights.
Huerta's community activism began when she was a student in Stockton High School. Huerta was active in numerous school clubs, and was a majorette and a dedicated member of the Girl Scouts until the age of 18. Huerta attended college at the University of the Pacific's Stockton College (later to become San Joaquin Delta Community College) where she obtained a provisional teaching credential. After teaching grammar school, Dolores left her job and began her lifelong crusade to correct economic injustice.
About her at school:
Huerta was outgoing and performed well in school. A former classmate at Stockton High School recalled years later, “When we were in school, she was very popular and outspoken. She was already an organizer, but I didn’t think she’d get so serious and work for such a cause.”
Verbal Dexterity:
Huerta enjoyed a close relationship with her maternal grandfather, Herculano Chávez, who entertained the children with stories, as well as provided patient supervision andwise counsel. He recognized the intelligence and cleverness of his granddaughter. “My grandfather,” Huerta recalled in an interview with the author, “used to call me seven tongues … because I always talked so much.” This verbal dexterity would be an important asset in her adult life.
Idealists are naturally drawn to working with people, and whether in education or counseling, in social services or personnel work, in journalism or the ministry, they are gifted at helping others find their way in life, often inspiring them to grow as individuals and to fulfill their potentials. Idealists are sure that friendly cooperation is the best way for people to achieve their goals. They believe in giving of themselves to help others..
Dolores:
Giving voice to the disenfranchised of society, and can be capable organisers:
"Their strong drive to speak out on issues and events, along with their boundless enthusiasm and natural talent with language, makes them the most vivacious and inspiring of all the types."
A passion for justice has been the motivating force behind the long career of Dolores Huerta, co-founder along with César E. Chávez, of the United Farm Workers’union.
For over 40 years she has devoted her intellect, energy, and vibrant personality to improving the lives of farm laborers, Mexican Americans, and women. Huerta’s single-minded dedication to social change has been commemorated in murals, in songs, in newspaper articles and magazines, and in the hearts and minds of overlapping generations of tens of thousands of union members and supporters. Her determination and unswerving advocacy of the rights of the poor and the disenfranchised have earned her innumerable awards and recognition from labor,community service, Hispanic, religious, political, and women’s groups.
Still active in her autumn years, Dolores Huerta is acknowledged as one of the foremost women in the U.S. labor movement and is heralded as an inspiring role model for the youth of today. Although Huerta is sought after as a speaker, her early life, her upbringing, her awakening as a social activist, her relationship with César E. Chávez, her career struggles, and her contribution to the UFW are not well known outside of labor and Mexican American circles.
For over 40 years she has devoted her intellect, energy, and vibrant personality to improving the lives of farm laborers, Mexican Americans, and women. Huerta’s single-minded dedication to social change has been commemorated in murals, in songs, in newspaper articles and magazines, and in the hearts and minds of overlapping generations of tens of thousands of union members and supporters. Her determination and unswerving advocacy of the rights of the poor and the disenfranchised have earned her innumerable awards and recognition from labor,community service, Hispanic, religious, political, and women’s groups.
Still active in her autumn years, Dolores Huerta is acknowledged as one of the foremost women in the U.S. labor movement and is heralded as an inspiring role model for the youth of today. Although Huerta is sought after as a speaker, her early life, her upbringing, her awakening as a social activist, her relationship with César E. Chávez, her career struggles, and her contribution to the UFW are not well known outside of labor and Mexican American circles.
Dolores Huerta:
Huerta advocated the use of non-violent civil disobedience when necessary. She was arrested 22 different times. In San Francisco In 1988 during a lawful and peaceful protest of the platform of candidate George H.W. Bush, she was severely beaten. Several ribs were broken and she was hospitalized for emergency surgery. The incident was caught on tape which led to a ruling in Huerta’s favor against the San Francisco Police Department. The money she received went directly to benefit farm workers.
“Democracy can only work if the people take power,” says Dolores Huerta, and she has dedicated her entire life to addressing labor and social problems and then helping the people involved take appropriate power.
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