BAKERSFIELD, Calif. (KERO) — Dolores Huerta’s impact on Kern County and state spans generations, from the farmworker movement to the fight for workers’ rights. Now after her death, California leaders are remembering her life and honoring her decades of activism and her contributions to the farmworker movement.
For many of us, Huerta was someone we first learned about in textbooks, a name forever tied to the farmworker movement and the fight for equality.
Here in Kern County, her story is personal.
Huerta called Bakersfield home, and her work helped transform the lives of farmworkers and families throughout the Central Valley.
Now, the community that helped launch her movement is mourning her loss.
Her death is now sparking tributes across California.
Governor Gavin Newsom ordered flags flown at half-staff in her honor, writing:
“Dolores represented the best of us. California — and the United States — would not be what we are today without her resolute spirit, her passion for justice and fairness, and her commitment to those overlooked and forgotten.”
Huerta’s influence reached far beyond the fields.
Arnulfo De La Cruz, president of SEIU California, called her death a profound and personal loss, describing Huerta as a matriarch of the labor movement.
Her impact also crossed political lines.
Republican State Senator Shannon Grove writing:
“Although Dolores Huerta and I disagreed on many issues, particularly those affecting California’s agricultural industry, I always respected her as a strong and influential advocate who never stopped fighting for the causes she believed in.”
The tributes continue to pour in, from state leaders Melissa Hurtado, Robert Rivas and Rob Bonta, to local leaders including Kern County Democratic Party Chair Christian Romo and Delano mayor Salvador Solorio Ruiz.
Huerta co-founded the organization that became the united farm workers and helped turn “Sí, se puede”, or “yes, we can,” into a rallying cry that echoed far beyond California’s fields.
Huerta’s legacy leaves a lasting mark on California and the labor movement. state leaders say her work will continue to inspire future generations.
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