March<\/a>, Huerta issued a statement accusing Ch\u00e1vez of sexually abused her during their time in the California labor movement of the 1960s.<\/p>\nAmong her many efforts to support farmworkers during her time with the UFW, Huerta negotiated contracts and ardently advocated for safer working conditions, including the elimination of harmful pesticides, and for unemployment and health care benefits for agricultural workers. In 1973, Huerta led a consumer boycott of grapes resulting in the ground-breaking California Agricultural Labor Relations Act of 1975.<\/p>\n
President Obama awarded Huerta the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 2012 for her work advocating for the underserved. The medal is the nation’s highest civilian honor. <\/p>\n
Huerta has received numerous awards for her work, including The Eleanor Roosevelt Humans Rights Award from President Bill Clinton in 1998. The Dolores Huerta Foundation, started in 2002, works on community-based organizing as well as state and national issues.<\/p>\n
Several landmarks in Southern California, including Dolores Huerta Square in LA’s Boyle Heights area, are named in her honor.<\/p>\n
In May, Huerta attended the dedication ceremony for her new mural in downtown Los Angeles. The mural, titled “Walking into History,” was created by Robert Vargas, an artist behind several of LA’s famous murals.<\/p>\n
“Dolores Huerta was a guiding light in the struggle for justice, and we know that her legacy will continue to fuel the movement she dedicated her life to,” NAACP’s National President Derrick Johnson said. “When Dolores turned 21, she celebrated her birthday by registering to vote. As we honor her today and every day, let\u2019s do our part to fight for labor rights, to fight for civil rights, and to make our voices heard at the ballot box. May she rest in peace and power.”<\/p>\n
Local and national leaders issued statements applauding Huerta of her lifetime of service. <\/p>\n
“A great loss to our city, to our country,” Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass said during a morning news conference. “Somebody who has impacted each and every one of us.”<\/p>\n
California Gov. Gavin Newsom described Huerta as a passionate fighter for fairness.<\/p>\n
“Dolores Huerta represented the best of us,” Newsom said. “California \u2014 and the United States \u2014 would not be what we are today without her resolute spirit, her passion for justice and fairness, and her commitment to those overlooked and forgotten. Dolores’ fight for gender equity, workers’ rights, and civil rights paved the way for generations to come \u2014 teaching people what was possible with determination and heart.<\/p>\n
“Her legacy lies not just in the accomplishments she achieved, but in the people who follow in her footsteps, take up the mantle, and keep creating a better world.”<\/p>\n
The Congressional Hispanic Caucus called Huerta an icon who showed courage and conviction.<\/p>\n
“Dolores Huerta defied definition,” the organization said. “To call her a leader, an activist, or a trailblazer is to barely begin to capture the magnitude of her legacy. She was a national and international icon whose courage, conviction, and relentless pursuit of justice helped change the course of history. From the labor movement to the broader fight for civil rights, Dolores challenged injustice in all its forms and empowered generations to demand dignity, equality, and opportunity.<\/p>\n
“Her legacy transcends borders, generations, and movements. She helped shape the conscience of our nation and demonstrated that the fight for justice requires both the courage to challenge the status quo and the conviction to never give up. For Latinos, her contributions are profound. For all Americans, her life stands as a testament to the power of collective action and the enduring promise of a more just and equitable society.”<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"What to KnowFarmworker and labor movement icon Dolores Huerta has died at 96, her family says. Huerta co-founded…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":479490,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[10],"tags":[3267,2919,116,118,117],"class_list":["post-479489","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-fort-worth","tag-california","tag-civil-rights","tag-fort-worth","tag-fort-worth-headlines","tag-fort-worth-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/479489","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=479489"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/479489\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/479490"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=479489"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=479489"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=479489"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}