Dolores Huerta Essay

Loretta Sanchez joined the United Food and Commercial Workers when she worked as an ice cream server in high school, because she joined the United Food and Commercial Workers in high school, she was able

Dolores Clara Fernandez Huerta born April 10, 1930 in Dawson, New Mexico is an American labor leader and civil rights activist who was co-founder of the National Farm Workers Association, and later the United Farm workers. Huerta has received many awards and accolades and has remained a role model and voice to many in the Latino community. Huerta had been born to Juan Fernandez and Alicia Chavez; they divorced when Huerta was just three years old. Both Huerta’s parents were active in the rights of people and the community itself. Huerta’s father was a field worker, miner, as well as a union activist. Huerta’s mother was a business woman who owned a restaurant and a 70-room hotel where she helped low wage workers. A lot of Huerta’s humanitarianism came from her mother, who was known for her kindness and compassion for others. Huerta personality followed close to her mother’s as she too was caring and compassionate yet strong minded.

Many times, leaders like this do not received the recognition and attention that they deserve, for instance Dolores Huerta. Dolores Clara Fernandez Huerta was, and still is, one of the greatest social activist the 20th century has seen. Dolores Huerta is a labor leader, activist, and feminist who has dedicated her life to better the experience of minorities and underrepresented communities. Two individuals who also dedicated their life to work with struggling communities raised Dolores. Her father, Juan Fernandez, was a farm worker and union activist who ran for office to create better legislature that helped farm workers. Dolores’ mother, Alicia Chavez, was a women dedicated to her community and to provide low housing for farmer workers and their families. She was the main influence in Dolores’ activist and feminist career. Throughout her life, Dolores has work hand-and-had with people such Cesar Chavez, Fred Ross,

3) In general she, along with her husband raised funds and sent petitions and postcards to the governor pf Alhambra to protest/promote Civil Rights.

Alongside her father, Dolores at 11 years old, sold pots and pans door to door and watched him as he was constantly slaving for long periods of time in the heat continually harvesting beats, a little at a time to earn a couple dollars, and those dollars which were most likely going to be spent on her. As he faced the dreadful working conditions, he became a labor activist and accomplished getting on the board of the CIO local at the Terrero Camp of the American Medals Company as the secretary-treasurer. Yet Dolores’s father was only on the committee for a brief amount of time due to how blunt and outspoken he was (Novas 160). He wanted to get his point across and explained his point in very rash tones, but even with his rash tones, Dolores Huerta admired her father in attempting to help the union and labor workers, which were the reasons Dolores Huerta pursued activist roles in the community. When teaching for a brief amount of time at an elementary school, she suffered seeing her students come to class with the face of hunger and in need of shoes, she believed that rather than trying to teach peoples hungry kids, a greater impact could result from organizing a union filled with the participation of farm workers, to petition in order to enforce better rights in regarding the way they were being mistreated.(Doak 34). Through experiencing and visually seeing what occurs due to families not having the advantage or

In 1969, Dolores Huerta reached a stumbling block in which she questioned, “How do I stop eleven million people from buying the grape?” (Huerta) The essence of Huerta’s question is that she needed to develop a different strategy that would prevent growers from gaining profits from their grape sales. Two years into the grape boycott, farmworkers from Delano, California had gained the support for equal civil rights from political figures and consumers throughout the United States. Americans from all walks of life were able to sympathize with the farmworkers who sought better working conditions, increased wages, and for their union to be recognized by growers. These were the basic human rights which were given to all Americans except farmworkers.

Dolores Huerta, an activist that fought alongside her husband, known as Cesar Chavez, said “When you are organizing a group of people, the first thing that we do is we talk about the history of what other people have been able to accomplish - people that look like them, workers like them, ordinary people, working people - and we give them the list: these are people like yourself; this is what they were able, to do in their community.” Cesar Chavez and Dolores Huerta founded the National Farm Workers Association (NFWA), now known as United Farm Workers (UFW). They Fought for basic human rights in the agricultural field. They demanded wages they can live off of, and they fought for bathrooms in the fields, and anything else they felt was necessary for a farm worker. Now, it does not seem like much, but it had a significant impact on the economy. They were behind boycotted farm growers and wineries. Stocks went down for

Mother Jones was a person that loved to help people get better jobs (Mintz and McNeil), so she devoted her life to help the working class (Horton 10). “The working people whose rights she fought for loved her” (Horton 12). This shows that the people who she helped appreciated the work she was doing to make their lives better. She was present in many different worker strikes, like coal strikes, steel strikes and cotton mill strikes (Mintz and McNeil). She campaigned all day, every day for workers all over the country. Mother Jones first got a firsthand look at child labor when she traveled through Alabama. She got a job at a mill and saw little girls and boys as young as six years old doing dangerous jobs that could seriously hurt them. The little kids got paid 10 cents a day for working from 5:30 a.m. until dark (Kraft 54) She was also was an active supporter in legislation against child labor (“Mother Jones”)

Florence Kelley is considered one of the great contributors to the social rights of workers, particularly women and children. She is best known as a prominent Progressive social reformer known for her role in helping to improve social conditions of the twentieth century. She has been described as a woman of fierce fidelity (Goldmark, 1953). Kelley was a leading voice in the labor, suffragette, children’s and civil rights movements. She was also a well-educated and successful woman, a rare combination during the turn of the twentieth century.

She called not just for change, but for revolution. Her then radical views, so contrary to the established laws and norms at the time, were evident through all of her work, especially when she began working with the Industrial Workers of the World in their efforts to bring together an even more-sizable portion of the American workforce than already existed by the time of its formation, an objective very contrary to the interests of the American government. She continued in these efforts until her death. (http://lucyparsons.org/biography-iww.php)

Dolores was born in northern New Mexico in April 1930. Her parents divorced when she was young and her mom eventually moved Dolores and her siblings to Stockton, California where she worked two jobs, one as a waitress and the other in a cannery, in order to provide for her family. While she worked her widowed father took care of the children. It was here that the family discovered how much Dolores loved to talk about anything and everything. During World War II Dolores’ mother's financial stability took a turn. Now married to her second husband, Alicia Fernandez ran a restaurant and bought a hotel in Stockton. The hotel served the working class, mainly farm workers. It was here that Dolores was immersed in cultural diversity and the struggle that immigrant families were facing. The quote: "We must use our lives to make the world a better place to live, not just to acquire things. That is what we are put on the earth for." (Dolores Huerta) shows readers that her upbringing and motivation foreshadow her successful future. Her father's life, however, also had a large impact on who she became. He was a farmworker who was employed by beet farmers during their harvest season. He experienced the conditions of farm workers firsthand and wanted to implement change. He began a labor union and in 1938, and used his mostly Hispanic union as a base to win the election to become the New Mexico state legislature. When Dolores learned of what her father did she was inspired to do the same for the people she had met in her mother's hotel. She wanted to be known for making change for people who needed it most and describes taking advantage of opportunities by saying that “Every moment is an organizing opportunity, every person a potential activist, every minute a chance to change the world.” (Dolores Huerta) This quote shows how strong Huerta believed in herself and others to create lasting

As the saying goes, “a woman’s work is never done,” but today’s women live a far different life than their predecessors. The women of the revolution were courageous and brave-hearted. The obstacles of their time were far more difficult to overcome than those faced by women in this day and age. Whether it was slavery, war, or racial prejudice, these women kept their heads held high and worked to break down these barriers and create change for the future. On top of having to deal with these hardships, the women of the revolution had families to take care of, mouths to feed, houses to clean, and wounds to heal. For many women of the revolution it was all about taking a stand for their rights and being

In the times of the Civil War, she served as a nurse, cook, spy, and armed scout. Besides, she took part in raids, as well as was an active supporter of women’s rights, and organized a shelter for aged and sick the African-Americans.

Rosa Parks taught us that to be an agent of change, a small action can do or start a big difference. You don't have to be loud or seek attention, you can be quiet and stick to your principals. She taught us that you sometimes need to be fearless and take risks to achieve change. She helped making the world a better, more respectful

With Martin Luther King day approaching this Monday, I felt writing about Rosa Parks and Civil Disobedience as the topic of this essay. As a female myself, I feel it is important for all genders to be confident and have strong values. Other females I want to include, is my mother and grandmother. My grandmother is 90 years old, and even though she lived in another state from where I grew up, we spent many summers together. I learned the value of being confident and being able to be very independent. My mother has always encouraged me to challenge myself and be a good citizen. Rosa Parks was a good citizen and took a stance (or seat) in what she believed. No matter our size, color, or religious beliefs, as long as we are good citizens