Dolores Huerta

Dolores Huerta
Dolores Huerta in 2016
Born	Dolores Clara Fernández (1930-04-10) April 10, 1930 (age 87) Dawson, New Mexico
Occupation	Labor leader and activist

Dolores Clara Fernández Huerta (born April 10, 1930) is an American labor leader and civil rights activist who was the co-founder of the National Farmworkers Association, which later became the United Farm Workers (UFW). Huerta has received numerous awards for her community service and advocacy for workers', immigrants', and women's rights, including the Eugene V. Debs Foundation Outstanding American Award, the United States Presidential Eleanor Roosevelt Award for Human Rights and the Presidential Medal of Freedom.

As a role model to many in the Latino community, Huerta is the subject of many corridos (ballads) and murals.

Born on April 10, 1930, in the mining town of Dawson, New Mexico, Huerta was the daughter of Juan Fernández—a miner, field/farm worker, union activist, and state assemblyman—and Alicia Chávez. Huerta was the couple's second child and only daughter; the couple divorced when Huerta was three years old. Chávez raised Huerta and her two brothers in the central California farm worker community of . Huerta's mother was known for her kindness and compassion towards others and was active in community affairs, numerous civic organizations, and the church. She encouraged the cultural diversity that was a natural part of Huerta's upbringing in Stockton. Alicia Chávez was a businesswoman who owned a restaurant and a 70-room hotel where she welcomed low-wage workers and farm worker families for affordable prices and sometimes even for free. This served as the inspiration for her caring and willingness to help farm workers later on in her life. In an interview Huerta stated that “The dominant person in my life is my mother. She was a very intelligent woman and a very gentle woman”. This prompted Huerta to think about civil rights. Her mother’s generous actions during Dolores' childhood provided the foundation for her own non-violent, strong spiritual stance. In the same interview she said “When we talk about spiritual forces, I think that Hispanic women are more familiar with spiritual forces. We know what fasting is, and that it is part of the culture. We know what relationships are, and we know what sacrifice is”.