Dolores Huerta, who co-founded the United Farm Workers union, helped lead the Delano Grape Strike and turned "Sí, se puede" into a rallying cry for generations of activists, died Wednesday at home. She was 96. Her family announced her death on her Instagram account, saying they were mourning "this incredible loss to our family."
Her family announced the death on Instagram, writing: "We are deeply saddened to announce that our beloved mother, Dolores Huerta, has passed away today at the age of 96." They added: "As you can imagine, this is an incredibly difficult time for us, and we ask for privacy as we grieve this incredible loss to our family. We know that many of you around the world share in our mourning, and we will be following up on plans to recognize and celebrate her incredible life and legacy."
Huerta was born Dolores Clara Fernandez in 1930 in Dawson, New Mexico. Her father was a miner and union activist, and her parents divorced when she was three. Her mother moved the family to California, where Huerta became an elementary school teacher in the San Joaquin Valley. "I couldn't stand seeing kids come to class hungry and needing shoes," she said in a 2017 PBS documentary. "I thought I could do more by organizing farmworkers than by trying to teach their hungry children."
Through civil rights work in Stockton she met Cesar Chavez, and in 1962 they founded the National Farm Workers Association, which became the United Farm Workers of America. She was a key negotiator for the union, joined Filipino grape pickers in the five-year Delano Grape Strike, and with Chavez helped win the first health and benefit plans for farmworkers. She was jailed 22 times for union demonstrating.
In 1968 she met Robert Kennedy in Delano and volunteered for his presidential campaign; she was on stage when he publicly thanked her moments before he was shot. She later campaigned for Presidents Bill Clinton, Barack Obama and Joe Biden. Obama awarded her the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 2012, praising her as a tenacious leader and joking that he had borrowed her slogan for his 2008 campaign. She was the first Latina inducted into the National Women's Hall of Fame and received nine honorary doctorates.
In 2016, her endorsement of Hillary Clinton in the Democratic primary drew criticism from actor Rosario Dawson, who played Huerta in a 2014 film about Chavez and called her "an instrument of the establishment." The two later reconciled.
Huerta maintained a public schedule well into her 90s, speaking about race, poverty, LGBTQ+ and women's rights through her Bakersfield, California-based foundation. This year she told the news organization Latino USA that Chavez sexually abused her in the 1960s, leading to the birth of two children, and that she kept the secret for 60 years for fear it would compromise her life's work. "It was my personal pain, it was my personal problem and, you know, I think it was worth it because it was my cross to bear. I'll say it that way," she said.
Analysis
Why This Matters
- Huerta was a central figure in the movement that won collective bargaining rights for farmworkers, and her death closes a chapter in US labor history.
- "Sí, se puede" remains a standard rallying cry for workers' and immigrant rights movements.
- Her public allegation against Cesar Chavez, made 60 years after the events, continues to reshape how the farmworker movement's founding story is told.
Background
Huerta and Cesar Chavez founded the National Farm Workers Association in 1962, later the United Farm Workers of America. Through the Delano Grape Strike, national grape and lettuce boycotts and contract negotiations, the union secured the first health and benefit plans for farmworkers and helped bring about California's first state law recognizing farmworkers' right to collective bargaining. Huerta remained active in Democratic politics and advocacy into her 90s through her Bakersfield-based foundation.
Key Perspectives
Huerta's family: said they were "deeply saddened" to announce her death, asked for privacy while grieving, and said they will follow up on plans to "recognize and celebrate her incredible life and legacy."
Huerta: described the secret of the abuse as a personal burden, saying "it was worth it because it was my cross to bear."
Barack Obama: praised Huerta as a tenacious leader and said he had stolen her slogan for his 2008 campaign.
Rosario Dawson: said after the 2016 Clinton endorsement that Huerta had become "an instrument of the establishment"; the two later reconciled.
What to Watch
- The family's promised plans to "recognize and celebrate" her life and legacy, which are the stated next step in the family's announcement.
- How the abuse allegation affects public commemorations of both Huerta and Cesar Chavez.
- Whether renewed national attention on her death revives discussion of farmworker conditions and the union's current role.
Checked
12 claims in this story checked against 2 sources: 11 supported.
Show each claim
- SupportedHuerta, a United Farm Workers co-founder and civil rights icon, died at 96.US Top News and Analysis: “Dolores Huerta, who co-founded the United Farm Workers union to improve working conditions in the nation’s fruit and vegetable fields and coined the phrase “Sí, se puede!” that became a widespread rallying cry, has died. She was 96.”
- SupportedHuerta turned “Sí, se puede” into a rallying cry for generations of activists.US Top News and Analysis: “coined the phrase “Sí, se puede!” that became a widespread rallying cry”
- Partly supportedHuerta helped lead the Delano Grape Strike.US Top News and Analysis: “She was among those who joined Filipino grape pickers on the picket line in what became the five-year “Delano Grape Strike.””
- SupportedHuerta died Wednesday at home, aged 96.US Top News and Analysis: “Huerta’s family said in a statement through her foundation that she died Wednesday at home.”
- SupportedHer family announced her death on her Instagram account.Axios: “died Wednesday at 96, her family announced on her Instagram account.”
- SupportedHer family’s statement said, “We are deeply saddened to announce that our beloved mother, Dolores Huerta, has passed away today at the age of 96.”Axios: ““We are deeply saddened to announce that our beloved mother, Dolores Huerta, has passed away today at the age of 96,” her family wrote in a statement posted on Instagram.”
- SupportedHer family’s statement asked for privacy and said it would follow up about plans to celebrate her life and legacy.Axios: “As you can imagine, this is an incredibly difficult time for us, and we ask for privacy as we grieve this incredible loss to our family. We know that many of you around the world share in our mourning, and we will be following up on plans to recognize and celebrate her incredible life and legacy.”
- SupportedHuerta and Cesar Chavez founded the National Farm Workers Association in 1962, which became the United Farm Workers of America.US Top News and Analysis: “in 1962 they started the National Farm Workers Association, which became United Farm Workers of America a few years later.”
- SupportedHuerta was jailed 22 times for union demonstrating.US Top News and Analysis: “Huerta was jailed 22 times for union demonstrating.”
- SupportedIn 2016, Rosario Dawson called Huerta “an instrument of the establishment,” and the two later reconciled.US Top News and Analysis: “actor Rosario Dawson — a Sanders supporter who played Huerta in a 2014 movie about César Chavez — said Huerta had become “an instrument of the establishment.” Dawson and Huerta eventually reconciled.”
- SupportedHuerta told Latino USA that Cesar Chavez sexually abused her in the 1960s, leading to the birth of two children, and that she kept it secret for 60 years because she feared it would compromise her life’s work.US Top News and Analysis: “Huerta sent shockwaves through the Latino community when she revealed that she was sexually abused in the 1960s by the farmworker movement’s co-founder, César Chavez, leading to the birth of two children, a secret she kept for 60 years”
- SupportedHuerta said, “It was my personal pain, it was my personal problem and, you know, I think it was worth it because it was my cross to bear. I’ll say it that way.”US Top News and Analysis: ““It was my personal pain, it was my personal problem and, you know, I think it was worth it because it was my cross to bear. I’ll say it that way.””