Culture Conversations: Amplifying the voice of Dolores Huerta
LOS ANGELES - Culture Conversations is an engaging and informative FOX 11 digital program aimed at closely examining the issues that our nation is grappling with at this moment: race, inequality, justice, policing, political strength, and what these issues mean to our future.
In honor of National Hispanic Heritage Month, Culture Conversations host Mimi Brown speaks to Civil Rights Icon, Dolores Huerta, about her lifelong journey of fighting for the rights of immigrant farm workers and the impact the Black Lives Matter movement is having on our society.
LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA - AUGUST 18: American Civil Rights pioneer Dolores Huerta speaks onstage during the Yola Dia Fest at Los Angeles Historical Park on August 18, 2019 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Scott Dudelson/Getty Images)
Dolores Huerta: ¡Sí se puede! We hear it in protests and see it written on signs. It’s a chant of unity that begun in the 1970s by Mexican-American civil rights activist Dolores Huerta, who has been on the front lines fighting for the basic civil rights of immigrant farmworkers and other laborers for over 65 years.
Raised by her mother in the rural community of Stockton, Calif., Huerta was all too familiar with the issues faced by these families. Huerta’s mother was a businesswoman who helped the community by providing affordable housing to the families of low-income farmworkers. It was from her that Huerta developed a spirit of activism within her community.
Starting in the late 50s, Dolores Huerta helped create organizations and executive boards which tackled gender and racially biased inequalities and unsatisfactory working conditions faced by the farm workers in her community. In 1962, she co-founded her most celebrated effort, The National Farm Workers Association, with Latino American civil rights activist César Chávez. Together, they led strikes and held (at the time illegal) protests, lobbying for farmworkers, which resulted in changes through legislation. Through their efforts, farmworkers received better working conditions, wages, and financial aid.
Although she gained fame as an advocate for farmworkers, Ms. Huerta is in no way a one-trick pony.
In 2002, she founded the Dolores Huerta Foundation. The foundation provides opportunities and programs on civic engagement, education, LGBTQIA+ equality, health, and youth development, with the mission to “inspire and organize communities to build volunteer organizations empowered to pursue social justice.”
Huerta’s efforts gained her a spot as one of Time Magazine's 2020 “100 Women of the Year.”
At the age of 90, Huerta continues to fight for the inequalities faced in America today. Last year she was arrested during a service worker protest, urging better pay for those who care for the elderly and disabled. She’s also an open supporter of the Black Lives Matter movement, and says she is ‘glad that its momentum is starting a notion of change.’
Coinciding with her past political support of former president Robert F. Kennedy, Huerta currently endorses former Vice President and current presidential candidate Joe Biden. "We need somebody who is going to bring everybody together and end the racism and hostility that has been created."
Follow Ms. Huerta on Twitter and Instagram.
Follow the Dolores Huerta Foundation on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter.
Mimi Brown: Culture Conversations is hosted by Mimi Brown. She is a Segment Producer for Good Day LA and has also worked for NBC News, US Weekly, and ABC News. Brown earned her Bachelor's degree from Howard University and also holds a Master's degree from American University. You can follow her on Instagram and Twitter.
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To contact us about this program, email us at cultureconversations@foxtv.com. Follow the conversation on social media #cultureconversations.