Dolores Huerta, the longtime labor leader, civil rights icon and feminist activist whose work helped shape the United Farm Workers movement, ended her silence Wednesday with an accusation that she was sexually abused by fellow organizer César Chávez and kept the secret for 60 years. Huerta made the disclosure at a time when her public legacy has long been tied to farmworker organizing, and when commemoration efforts for Chávez have become a focal point for debate.
Huerta is also known for a Spanish-language slogan that has echoed far beyond the farmworkers’ movement. The Associated Press reported that Huerta coined “Sí, se puede” in 1972 while bringing together farmworkers in Arizona to fight a law that prohibited boycotts and strikes, and that her response—“Yes, it can be done”—became emblematic of the organizing drive she helped lead. The AP also said former President Barack Obama later credited her slogan in his 2008 campaign, using a slightly modified translation of “Yes, we can.”
As co-founder of what eventually became the United Farm Workers union, Huerta became closely identified with a long campaign to improve working conditions for farmworkers. The AP described Huerta as the face of a movement that aimed to empower workers through higher wages, health benefits, pensions and improved safety, and said she continued using her platform at nearly 96 to advocate for marginalized groups and fight discrimination.
Huerta said in a Wednesday statement that she told no one about Chávez’s abuse for decades, saying she did so to protect the movement she had dedicated her life to. She said, “I channeled everything I had into advocating on behalf of millions of farm workers and others who were suffering and deserved equal rights,” according to the AP’s account of her remarks.
The disclosure has prompted calls to re-examine how Chávez is honored in public spaces, including institutions and landmarks that bear his name. The AP reported that some people are calling for Huerta’s name to replace Chávez’s on a range of government buildings, schools, monuments and streets across the country, with activists raising the possibility that the road in Albuquerque with a portion named for both Chávez and Huerta should eventually carry Huerta’s name alone.
Beyond the specific abuse disclosure, the AP revisited Huerta’s activist trajectory from the early days of organizing through years of public campaigning. It described Huerta as meeting Chávez in the 1950s through earlier Latino civil rights work in Stockton, and as helping start the National Farm Workers Association in 1962, which later became the United Farm Workers union. The AP also said Chávez once described Huerta as fearless for her commitment to the cause and her toughness in negotiations.
The Associated Press said Huerta was jailed more than 20 times for demonstrations and was seriously injured while protesting in 1988. After recovering, the AP reported that Huerta shifted focus toward women’s rights and encouraged Latinas to run for office, and that she has campaigned for Democratic presidents Bill Clinton, Obama and Joe Biden. The AP also said California Gov. Gavin Newsom has described Huerta as a close friend.
Huerta’s recognition has included the Presidential Medal of Freedom, which she received as the Presidential Medal of Freedom recipient in 2012, with the AP reporting that Obama praised her and joked he had “stolen her slogan” for his campaign. The AP also said Huerta is in the National Women’s Hall of Fame as the first Latina inducted and has received nine honorary doctorates from U.S. universities.
In response to Huerta’s disclosure, U.S. Sen. Martin Heinrich, a Democrat from New Mexico, said in remarks reported by the AP that he could not imagine the pain and suffering survivors endured over decades and thanked Huerta for “showing us what real strength is.”