BAKERSFIELD, Calif. (KGET) — Acting California Governor Eleni Kounalakis has declared April 10, 2022 Dolores Huerta Day in honor of the advocate’s 92nd birthday.
Huerta was born in New Mexico but spent most of her early life in the Central Valley. Here she found her passion for fighting for workers and their families and helped lead a farm labor movement that continues to this day.
In 1962, Huerta worked with Cesar Chavez to establish the National Farm Workers Association. It was dedicated to organizing farm workers for better working conditions. She later founded United Farm Workers with Larry Itliong, Philip Vera Cruz, and other labor leaders and activists.
Huerta has also received many awards for her work and activism. She received the Eleanor Roosevelt Human Rights Award in 1998, was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 2012, and was inducted into the California Hall of Fame in 2013. She also became the first Latina inducted into the National Women’s Hall of Fame in 1993.
Huerta still has an active voice in the community, continuing her work through the Dolores Huerta Foundation. Kounalakis said he organization is dedicated to advocating for marginalized communities and teaching the next generation of organizers to empower others and drive social change.
