Dolores Huerta, the civil rights icon who turned "Sí, se puede!" into a rallying cry heard from California's Central Valley to the White House, died Wednesday at 96. Activists, lawmakers, and civil rights leaders promptly did what people do when a giant leaves the room: they paid tribute to a legacy that, unlike most, actually earned the fuss.
In California, where Huerta helped found the United Farm Workers (UFW), the loss hit like a canceled harvest. She laid the union's foundations in the Central Valley and helped organize the 1965 Delano grape strike - a national boycott of table grapes that won better wages and working conditions for grape pickers. Several California schools bear her name, murals across the state depict her likeness, and in 2018 California declared 10 April - her birthday - Dolores Huerta Day. So yes, she has a day. Most of us are lucky to get a card.
"From the fields of California to the halls of Congress and the White House, Dolores dedicated her life to ensuring that every voice - especially those too often silenced - was heard," said Hector Sanchez Barba, president of the voter mobilization organization Mi Familia Vota. "Her historic rallying cry, 'Sí, se puede,' is not just a slogan; it is a living call to action that continues to unite and inspire millions across the world."
UFW president Teresa Romero made the case for a living monument: "Our greatest monument to her memory is for the union she helped found to continue to grow. Dolores fought for farm workers to the very end of her life. The greatest possible tribute to her life is for her work of organizing to continue."
Huerta's legacy was not confined to state lines. Her portrait hangs at some US embassies, schools in several states are named after her, and she helped negotiate national immigration policy. Until her death, she remained intimately involved in promoting civil and labor rights in Washington DC and across the US - retirement apparently never got the memo.
Tributes poured in from California's biggest political names, including Nancy Pelosi, the former House speaker, Gavin Newsom, the governor, and former vice-president Kamala Harris.
"Dolores was a dear friend, and we all responded to her rallying cry, 'Sí se puede,' which inspired generations of Americans to believe in the power of collective action," Pelosi said. "May it be a comfort to her family and loved ones that so many mourn their loss and are praying for them at this sad time."
"I was blessed to know Dolores for many years and proud to organize alongside my dear friend to champion working families and immigrant rights," Harris said. "I will always be grateful for her support and friendship. We will honor her legacy by continuing the fight for the dignity of every person."
Newsom put it plainly: "Dolores Huerta represented the best of us. California - and the United States - 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."
Alex Padilla, US senator representing California, echoed the sentiment: "The best tribute we can pay is to carry on the work, which means standing with workers, defending civil rights and organizing for a more just California."
Xavier Becerra, the former California attorney general and former US health secretary who is running for governor, offered a bilingual send-off: "¡Adiós, Dolores! You were everywhere. You did everything. If you want to know where a leader will take you, know where they come from. Dolores never let us forget where she came from. Si, se pudo [Yes, we did]."
Lawmakers across the US, including Alexandria Ocasio Cortez, the New York congressperson, hailed her trailblazing legacy. "For decades after the Delano Grape Strike, she continued to organize for the rights of working people, women and immigrants. She continued to fight for the idea that when ordinary people come together, they can change the course of history," Ocasio Cortez said. "While we mourn her devastating loss, we will continue her fight to build a country where every worker, regardless of race, gender, or economic status, is treated with dignity."
Lawmakers also thanked Huerta for her efforts to promote female candidates to public office. Eloise Gómez Reyes, the state senator who brought legislation in 2018 to mark 10 April as Dolores Huerta Day in California, said she was mourning "the loss of someone who profoundly shaped my own life."
"Dolores Huerta taught generations of us that we did not have to accept the world as it was. That ordinary people, working together, could challenge powerful institutions, overcome injustice, and build something better. She didn't simply open doors for women like me. She taught us that we had the power to open them for others," Reyes said.
Hilda Solis, a former Democratic congresswoman who became the first Latina to serve in a cabinet position as Barack Obama's labor secretary, thanked Huerta for her mentorship. "Growing up in the San Gabriel Valley, I rarely saw Latinas in positions of leadership. Dolores was one of the few women who showed me what was possible," she said. "From the state legislature to Congress and my time serving in President Barack Obama's cabinet, Dolores remained a constant in my life. We joined demonstrations and rallies, stood with workers fighting for their rights and demanded action when people in power looked away … Dolores understood the importance of showing up, bearing witness and refusing to let the suffering of women go ignored."
For years, Huerta was considered the second-in-command to UFW co-founder César Chávez - and she spoke about how she had to fight sexism within the movement, often forced to cede credit to Chávez. Earlier this year, after a New York Times investigation uncovered Chávez's pattern of sexual abuse of women and girls, Huerta revealed that Chávez had raped her, too.
"I believed that exposing the truth would hurt the farmworker movement I have spent my entire life fighting for," she said, explaining her long silence. But after sharing her story, she learned her fear would not bear out. Across the US, officials looked to rename streets that once bore Chávez's name with Huerta's. Murals centering Chávez were replaced with Huerta's image, or images depicting the larger farmworker movement - a posthumous rebranding that Chávez, one suspects, did not see coming.
Actor Rosario Dawson, who portrayed Huerta in a 2014 biopic of César Chávez, said Huerta had been a "mentor and a beacon of light." Dawson, who co-founded the organization Voto Latino, had worked with Huerta to rally voter turnout and at times openly disagreed with her politics. "Her guidance transcended generations, nationalities, and borders. She touched so many people as she fought for justice, peace and equality. She never backed down," Dawson said, adding: "¡Sí, se puede, Dolores! May we carry your light and joy as we forge the path for new generations."