'Si, se puede': US civil rights icon Dolores Huerta dies at 96
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Summary
Dolores Huerta, a co-founder of the United Farm Workers union and a longtime labor and civil rights activist, died of cancer in Bakersfield, California, on Wednesday at age 96, a family spokesperson said. She helped organize farmworkers and negotiate contracts that secured workplace protections and benefits, and she continued advocating on social and political issues into her 90s.Key Facts
- Huerta co-founded the United Farm Workers with Cesar Chavez.
- She served as a chief negotiator, strike organizer and lobbyist for the union, particularly during the 1960s and 1970s.
- Union contracts secured farmworkers benefits including healthcare, retirement plans, rest periods, clean drinking water and pesticide protections.
- Huerta was credited with giving the union its slogan, “Si, se puede,” later adapted as “Yes, we can” by Barack Obama during his 2008 presidential campaign.
- She was arrested more than 20 times and suffered broken ribs and a damaged spleen after police beat her at a 1988 protest in San Francisco.
- In 2026, Huerta said Chavez had pressured her into sex and raped her; she said both encounters resulted in pregnancies.
- Huerta continued speaking and registering voters into her 90s, including speaking out against President Donald Trump’s immigration policies.
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