Labor Icon Dolores Huerta Dies at 96

Joining forces with Cesar Chavez in the 1960s, Huerta became the architect of one of the most successful labor boycotts in history. In 1968, her efforts persuaded 17 million households to shun California table grapes, forcing growers to recognize the rights of farmworkers. Her strategic brilliance also secured the 1975 Agricultural Labor Relations Act in California, granting laborers access to pensions, health insurance, and the right to organize. Throughout her career, she faced FBI surveillance, violent opposition, and 22 arrests, the last occurring in 2019 during a demonstration for home health aides.

Her legacy is complex. While she remained a figurehead for movements spanning LGBTQ+ rights, voting access, and immigration reform, she recently confronted the darker history of her early partnership. Earlier this year, she revealed that Chavez had sexually abused her and others, explaining that she kept silent for decades to protect the movement. Despite this, her influence remains cemented in the American lexicon; she is the originator of the rallying cry "Sí se puede," which President Barack Obama later adopted as his own campaign slogan upon awarding her the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 2012.

Beyond her partnership with Chavez, Huerta founded the Dolores Huerta Foundation in 2002 to foster grassroots leadership. Sara Nelson, president of the Association of Flight Attendants, described her as a woman who fought for a world where no human is exploited. Huerta is survived by her 13 children, who plan to honor her life in a forthcoming announcement.