BAKERSFIELD, Calif. (KERO) — Dolores Huerta, the civil rights leader whose work reshaped the lives of farmworkers across the Central Valley, has died at the age of 96. Huerta's family says she died Wednesday morning at her home in southwest Bakersfield.
Huerta's fight began in the 1960s in Delano, where she organized farmworkers and co-founded the United Farm Workers with César Chávez. Huerta called Bakersfield home, and her work helped shape the lives of farmworkers and families across the Central Valley. Now, the community is mourning her loss.
Olivia Garcia, a professor at Bakersfield College, says Huerta was an important figure.
"She was a powerful Chicana, and the fact that she was one of us, and we saw her in such a spotlight. We got to share her with the world," Garcia said.
To many, she was an inspiration. Leticia Perez, Kern County's fifth district supervisor, says Huerta was a mentor who showed her how to organize and lead.
"I learned from her, uh, you know, how to keep going, uh, learned from her how to see every single door as an organizing opportunity," Perez said.
Lisa Buckner says Huerta mentored her when she was a young activist in the 1970s and says this is a great loss.
"It will be a big hole in many lives, including my own. She's meant a lot to to so many of us over the years, and and I'm glad that there are people who are recognizing that she did, in fact, influence them and their lives and what they've done with their lives," Buckner said.
The family of Dolores Huerta says they will follow up with plans to celebrate her life and legacy.
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