7 Quotes & Sayings By Dolores Huerta

Dolores Huerta is the co-founder of the United Farm Workers (UFW). She was born in South Gate, California on December 4, 1927. Her parents were farm workers and she contracted tuberculosis at the age of seven. After she recovered, her family moved to San Jose where she attended Lincoln High School Read more

She graduated from San Jose State College (now San Jose State University) in 1949 with a degree in child development. Dolores moved back to her hometown of Delano, California where she worked as a field secretary for the UFW. Over the next decade she helped to organize farm workers for union representation.

In 1968, she became national director of UFW’s Delano office and then went on to become president of its Salinas chapter. She held that post until 1975 when she was elected vice president of UFW's parent organization, Agricultural Workers Organizing Committee (AWOC). While serving as vice president, Dolores helped establish the first farm labor union unionized grape vineyards in Delano and Salinas Counties.

She retired from AWOC in 1983 but stayed active with the UFW until 1999 when it merged with Cesar Chavez's United Farm Workers Association.

1
If you haven't forgiven yourself something how can you forgive others? Dolores Huerta
2
Giving kids clothes and food is one thing but it's much more important to teach them that other people besides themselves are important and that the best thing they can do with their lives is to use them in the service of other people. Dolores Huerta
3
We criticize and separate ourselves from the process. We've got to jump right in there with both feet. Dolores Huerta
4
My mother never made me do anything for my brothers, like serve them. I think that's an important lesson, especially for the Latino culture, because the women are expected to be the ones that serve and cook and whatever. Not in our family. Everybody was equal. Dolores Huerta
5
My dad was very intelligent, had a very strong personality. I was amazed with my father. Dolores Huerta
6
My mother was a very wonderful woman. When she and my dad divorced, she moved to California and worked two jobs in the cannery at night and as a waitress during the day. But she saved enough money to establish a restaurant. Dolores Huerta