Dolores Huerta Essay

When asked to write about an important activist who has demonstrated protest, I immediately drifted towards a Hispanic and/or feminist activist. Various names came across my mind initially such as Cesar Chavez and Joan Baez but as a later discussion in class concluded, there are numerous others who are rarely highlighted for their activism and struggles, which lead to me researching more. In my research I came across Dolores Huerta, an American labor leader and civil rights activist, who I felt was an underdog and brushed over activist in the Hispanic community. Dolores Clara Fernandez was born on April 10, 1930, in Stockton, California where she was raised in a single parent home. She gained her strong work ethic from her mother who worked multiple jobs to support her children and also had them partake in cultural activities. Growing up, Dolores dealt with racism, which only prompted her to work twice as hard and help those who cannot speak up for themselves. Huerta’s distraught encounters with her students ignited the fire in her to begin her career as

The strike was the final straw of years of racial build up, poor pay, and poor conditions towards Filipino American grape workers. From 1965 to 1970, Huerta and Chavez worked together to highlight the poor conditions that 5,000 migrant farm workers were dealing with in a series of non-violent marches, speeches, and rallies. There was no significant response for the first two years, where strikers began to loose faith and turned their impatience to anger. Huerta, with the help of Chavez, took on a different tactic towards the boycott and began to spread the strike nationally. Huerta encouraged and helped farmers travel across the United States and Canada, spreading the news on what was really happening and asking for more