Labor leader and feminist activist Dolores Huerta dies at 96
The labor leader and civil rights activist co-founded the United Farm Workers and later said César Chávez raped her in the 1960s.
- Labor and civil rights icon Dolores Huerta died Wednesday, October 28, 2026, at age 96 in her Bakersfield home, her family announced. A spokesperson confirmed she had been battling cancer.
- In 1962, Huerta co-founded the National Farm Workers Association with Cesar Chavez, later renamed the United Farm Workers. She served as chief negotiator and coined the movement's enduring slogan, "Si, se puede," meaning "Yes, it can be done."
- Earlier this year, Huerta revealed to the New York Times that she was sexually abused by Chavez in the 1960s, a secret she kept for 60 years to protect the movement. She later spoke out to support other survivors of his alleged abuse.
- U.S. Rep. Melanie Stansbury called Huerta "a friend," while Rep. Joaquin Castro praised her as a "trailblazing civil rights leader" for improving countless lives through decades of advocacy.
- The Bakersfield-based Dolores Huerta Foundation, which she co-founded in 2003, continues her legacy through executive director Camila Chavez, who leads grassroots organizing efforts to advance social justice and systemic change.
473 Articles
473 Articles
The American unionist and civil rights activist Dolores Huerta is dead.
POLITICS: Dolores Huerta — labor leader who revealed Cesar Chavez’s secrets
Dolores Huerta, who died Wednesday at the age of 96, will always be remembered as a towering figure in the history of the American labor movement. But she will also be remembered for exposing the abusive behavior of Cesar Chavez. Earlier this year — just months before she died — Huerta told the New York Times that Chavez had raped her, twice. On both occasions, the rapes led to pregnancies. Huerta delivered the babies, and hid them with other f…
Dolores Huerta, legendary labor leader and civil rights icon, dies at 96
SACRAMENTO — Dolores Huerta, the trailblazing labor organizer, civil rights activist, and feminist icon who spent over seven decades rallying agricultural workers and co-founding the movement that became the United Farm Workers, has died at age 96.
Dolores Huerta Film Update Shared As Director Mourns Civil Rights Icon
Frida screenwriter and Selena writer/director Gregory Nava is mourning the loss of his friend Dolores Huerta, the civil rights icon who died today at age 96. Nava and his wife Barbara Martinez Jitner were by Huerta’s side in her final moments. “We were blessed to be by Dolores’s side last night in Bakersfield, to say goodbye and stand with her family in love. Dolores was a great light and a fearless warrior for justice. She set the world abla…
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