Dolores Huerta mourned, remembered across Southern California

As news spread Wednesday, Oct. 28, of the death of Dolores Huerta, a key figure in the nation’s Latino labor rights movement, many in Southern California mourned the labor leader, civil rights and feminist icon.

Huerta, 96, died Wednesday at home, her family announced in a statement through her foundation.

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Southern California has long honored Huerta, naming schools, community centers and streets after her. Events have been dedicated to her and murals painted with her likeness, to recognized the legacy and role she played in fighting for workers’ rights. She visited the region, including stops in Riverside before the opening of Cheech Marin’s Chicano art museum and before a statue of fellow labor leader Cesar Chavez was erected.

Local elected officials and labor organizers mourned the news of the strong woman, mother, and for more than some, friend — whom they say inspired their own leadership.

California Gov. Gavin Newsom said Huerta’s legacy lies not just in her accomplishments, but in those “who follow in her footsteps … creating a better world.”

Her fight “for gender equity, workers’ rights, and civil rights paved the way for generations to come — teaching people what was possible with determination and heart,” he posted on X.

In a statement, Sen. Eloise Gómez Reyes, D–Colton, said she mourned “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,” Gómez Reyes wrote. “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. Dolores gave us more than a rallying cry. She gave us a responsibility to one another. We will carry that responsibility forward.”

The California Federation of Labor Unions, AFL-CIO, in a statement called Huerta “a trailblazing organizer who continued to inspire and mentor new organizers her entire life.”

“Dolores’ leadership in fighting for a union for California’s farmworkers, UFW, is only part of her historic story. Dolores stayed in the fight for working people for decades. She was everywhere and will be deeply missed,” President Lorena Gonzalez said in the statement. “Huerta showed generations of women they had a place in this labor movement. She was our singular trailblazer and the shoulders on which we continue to stand.”

Hilda Solis, a Los Angeles County Supervisor, said she was “heartbroken” by Huerta’s death and called her a “dear friend” who also inspired her, as a fellow Latina, to pursue her own political career. She recalled stories of traveling to Mexico and Sacramento, joining demonstrations and rallies, fighting for womens’ and workers’ rightsrmworkers.

“I learned so much from Dolores …  I remember seeing the iconic photograph of her holding the ‘Huelga’ sign and drawing strength from her example,” Solis said, referring to the Spanish word for “strike.” “She helped me understand that women like us had a place in public life and a responsibility to speak up for those too often ignored. That lesson stayed with me throughout my career.”

Huerta co-founded the United Farm Workers union, aiming to improve working conditions for migrant workers and those in the fields.

Huerta was in the news earlier this year.

Shockwaves through the Latino and migrant worker communities when Huerta revealed earlier this year that she was sexually abused in the 1960s by her United Farm Workers co-founder, labor leader Cesar Chavez, which led to the birth of two children. It was a secret she kept for 60 years, long after Chavez — whom many then revered as the “founder” of farmworker’ movements — had died in 1993.

City News Service contributed to this report.