Dolores Huerta
Dolores Huerta
Dolores Clara Fernández Huertais an American labor leader and civil rights activist who was the co-founder of the National Farmworkers Association, which later became the United Farm Workers. Huerta has received numerous awards for her community service and advocacy for workers', immigrants', and women's rights, including the Eugene V. Debs Foundation Outstanding American Award, the United States Presidential Eleanor Roosevelt Award for Human Rights and the Presidential Medal of Freedom...
NationalityAmerican
ProfessionCivil Rights Leader
Date of Birth10 April 1930
CityDawnson, NM
CountryUnited States of America
Leadership is a choice one makes.
When you talk about sacrifices, the ones in my family who have sacrificed are my children, because I love what I'm doing. I love the work. I love to go out there and talk about organizing the people. To me, that's something I really enjoy.
I think, if anything, my children are the ones who have sacrificed because I've had to too many times be absent from them. But, at the same time, they have lived very enriched lives and probably experienced things they wouldn't have if not for the movements. So, there are some rewards.
Sometimes, we have to promote ourselves. Just go out and be very active about trying to find an opportunity.
I hope people become inspired to become active in their community. That's the important thing.
If we can just convince other people to get involved, this could make some major changes in our society. It's very exhilarating.
When a group of people get together, it's collective power. You know that you're doing it for the good.
I had been a Girl Scout from the time I was 8 to the time I was 18 years old. I had belonged to my church organization and youth groups. But, you never really found a way that you could make a change.
Once I learned about grassroots organizing, I got so enamored with it because I thought 'Wow this is the way you do it!'
If we don't have workers organized into labor unions, we're in great peril of losing our democracy.
How do I stop eleven million people from buying the grape?
Why is it that farmworkers feed the nation but they can't get food stamps?
The racist rhetoric from politicians is inspiring people to organize, as more people see what happens by not getting active.
My mother was a dominant force in our family. And that was great for me as a young woman, because I never saw that women had to be dominated by men.