Dolores Huerta is a Mexican American labor leader and civil rights activist known for founding the United Farm Workers alongside Cesar Chavez and for her continued advocacy for the rights of immigrants, agricultural workers, and women. She began her career in activism in the 1950’s as an organizer for farm workers’ rights. In 1960, she began lobbying for legislation in support of Spanish speakers and undocumented people. In addition to carving out space for herself in the world of politics, she spent two years advocating for increased Latina representation in office around the country through a project by the Feminist Majority.
Over her impressive career, she has been arrested 22 times for non-violent protests and still has received a long list of accolades and awards for her work including the Presidential Medal of Freedom and Eleanor Roosevelt Award for Human Rights. She’ll also officially became the first Latina to be portrayed in the Smithsonian National Portrait Gallery last summer. !Huelga!
