Social Justice Leader Dolores Huerta Speaks to University Community

A standing ovation and shouts of “sí se puede!” greeted lifelong activist and social justice leader Dolores Huerta as she took the Lund Auditorium stage this spring as a special guest of Dominican University.

A labor activist who coined what became the farm labor movement’s motto “Yes, we can,” Huerta, now 93, answered questions on a number of topics, including her time as co-founder of the United Farm Workers Association with Cesar Chavez, grassroots union organizing, and the successful consumer grape boycotts that led to improved conditions and rights for workers.

It was a return visit for Huerta, a Presidential Medal of Freedom recipient and founder of the Dolores Huerta Foundation, which helps communities build volunteer organizations pursuing social justice.

“I’m very proud to come back to this university because the Dominicans have always been courageous fighters for women, especially children,” Huerta said.

She shared insights for a new generation of activists, encouraging them to find organizations that need volunteers to help do their work.

“We can talk about social justice, but when we get physically engaged, we learn by doing,” Huerta said. “It gives the emotional fortitude [activists] need.”

“She is a very good representation of myself,” said Dominican sophomore and Schmitt Scholar Ingrid Bustos, who attended Huerta’s appearance. “Not only is she Hispanic, but she’s a woman, and I feel like Latina women don’t get the same representation as men. It was very important for me to go see her.”

Senior Remesis Garcia said she attended Huerta’s visit because she read about her work in a Latin American history course.

“She was very inspiring and she’s still very, very motivated, which I really like,” Garcia noted. “And she’s 93 and still fighting!”