Dolores Huerta ends her silence, champions decades of advocacy for marginalized groups

United Farm Workers leader Dolores Huerta, center, leads a rally in San Francisco's Mission District on Nov. 19, 1988, along with Howard Wallace, president of the San Francisco chapter of the UFW, left, and Maria Elena Chavez, 16, the daughter of Cesar Chavez, right, as part of a national boycott of what the UFW claims is the dangerous use of pesticides on table grapes. (AP Photo/Court Mast, File) 2026-03-19T13:02:09Z ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (AP) — It was Dolores Huerta who coined the slogan “Si, se puede” in 1972 when bringing together farmworkers in Arizona to fight a law that prohibited boycotts and strikes. Told it would be impossible to organize in the Southwestern state, her three-word Spanish-language response — which translates as “Yes, it can be done” — was simple, defiant and emblematic. Huerta’s resolve cemented her place in history as one of the nation’s most influential labor leaders, civil rights icons and feminist activists. Former President Barack Obama would later credit her for the phrase that was a rallying cry in his 2008 campaign in a slightly modified translation, “Yes, we can.” As co-founder of what eventually became the United Farm Workers union, Huerta has been the face of a movement that for decades aimed to empower the lives of workers through higher wages, health benefits, pensions and improved safety. At nearly 96, she still uses her platform to advocate for marginalized groups and fight discrimination. So it shocked the world Wednesday when Huerta revealed that she was sexually abused by the movement’s co-founder, César Chavez , leading to the birth of two children, a secret she kept for 60 years. Now some are calling for Huerta’s name to replace Chavez’s on the plethora of government buildings , schools, monuments and streets that bear his name across the country. Activist roots The details of Huerta’s life and rise to activism have been told again and again over the decades through interviews and documentaries, during award ceremonies

原文链接: AP News