Essay On Dolores Huerta

La fuerza de Dolores
Within the years of American history, change and oppression have stood together hand and hand. And many have rose to the occasion to invoke change and feed the starvation of finding equity among all. Leadership, strength and passion are some of the attributes that are ingrained into people who have took a stand in American history, especially in Dolores Huerta. Dolores Huerta is a Chicana social activist, who has dedicated her life to fighting against social injustices. Although she has shown support to many different groups fighting against maltreatment, she has mainly enforced economic equality for immigrant farm workers. Ultimately, Dolores Huerta, took a stand for immigrant farm workers by organizing, protesting, and

negotiating to create policies and decent working conditions, which fights against the reality of exploitation in America.
After the Second World War, Americans decided to create the Bracero Program.

This program's purpose was to restore the agricultural economy of the United States. The embrace of Mexican guest workers, could be seen as a huge chance for opportunity in the United States, but instead it focused on exploitation and injustice toward them. The Bracero history archive shows this by expressing, “ Between the 1940s and mid 1950s, farm wages dropped sharply as a percentage of manufacturing wages, a result in part of the use of braceros and undocumented laborers who lacked full rights in American society.” With the wage drop and the lack of rights, an immigrant farmer’s life was the life of hard work and desecration. Also in the article, A System Designed for Maximum Exploitation, many of the issues from a typical Braceros life are highlighted in stating, “...they suffered from lack of consistent work, long work hours, earnings that barely covered expenses, unauthorized deductions from their pay, meager and poor quality food rations, run-down and unsanitary housing...” This discrete system that embodied the same values of slavery did not pass over smoothly on a fair amount of people, especially, Dolores

Huerta.
The rise of a civil activist began in Stockton, California, where Huerta was raised by a single mother who owned an affordable hotel that was mostly occupied by immigrant farm workers.

Her father at the time was living in New Mexico and was heavily involved as being a union activist. Huerta has deeply credited her parents for the drive that lead to her passion for civil justice and the strength in the women she is. Suzanne Oboler and Deena J. Gonzalez explain this in their writings by stating, “Huerta credits her father for giving her an appreciation for labor activism and her mother for providing examples of nontraditional womanhood and egalitarian divisions of labor in the home”(320). With two strong and liberating individuals as parents, a leader was bound to emerge. Growing up as a highly intelligent and socially aware young women, Huerta decided to first pursue a career in the classroom. Betz Des Chanes and Phillis Engelbert record how Huerta quickly realized her students of farm laborers lacked basic necessities and how she even states, “I thought I could do more by organizing than by trying to teach their hungry children.” With knowledge and direction, an organizer began to

form.
In 1955, at the age of 25, Huerta started organizing in the Community Service Organization (CSO) and about this time, Huerta came into contact with a man whom she will forever be affiliated and recognized with, Cesar Chavez. In addition to that, Huerta became a member of the Agricultural Workers Association in 1958 and become an organizer in the Agricultural Workers Organizing Committee (AWOC) in 1959. With such involvement and dedication, Huerta was more than qualified to become a real organizer and activist. Her assets allowed her to actively urge bills that allowed immigrant farm workers to be able to collect Social Security, disability, insurance, access to voting ballots and driver’s test in Spanish, and many more necessary policies that brought forth benefits and rights that were much deserved. Suzanne Oboler and Deena J, Gonzalez state that, “At least fifteen of the bills she advocated for during this period were passed and made into law- each of which enabled agricultural laborers access to rights and benefits generally available to other workers”(321). That alone brought tremendous change and justice to farm workers desperately suffering from economic injustice.
Not only did her ability to organize and advocate fight against farm workers oppression, but she also fought intuitively by protesting and making her cries heard. When Chavez decided to leave the CSO to commit solely on the unification of farm workers, Huerta joined, and together they shared an empowering vision, and created the National Farm Workers Association (NFWA). Shortly after the two’s creation, an opportunity emerged for them to show their passion and brilliance. One of her most famous involvements was in the Delano Grape Strike of 1965 to 1970. The opportunity rose from Filipino workers involved from the AWOC, who were striking against growing grapes. These two organizations created an ethnically diverse collaboration and create the United Farm Workers (UFW). At the time, in 1970, the UFW published a pamphlet that gives a basic understanding of the strike and movement, “... over 4,000 grape pickers in the vineyards around Delano, California went on strike, when their employers refused to pay a living wage, sign a written contract, or recognize the workers union… these farm workers, led by Cesar Chavez and the United Farm Workers organizing committee, have struggled non-violently for social and economic justice.” Huerta has took part in many different types of protests, some more known than others, but significantly, Huerta has been able to empower people with speeches and sayings such as huelga, viva la cause, and si se puede. She also encouraged and urged that families, especially women and children, be involved and partake in such non-violent protests, which would only strengthen the movement. Although her face and involvement may not be as recognized as others, it was her at the picket line, her being heard on the bullhorn, and her protesting.
What also contributed to Huerta’s success as an activist was her ability to negotiate and create change effectively, and legally. As vice president of the UFW and chief contract negotiator, real improvement was caused by her. Waldo E. Martin Jr. and Patricia Sullivan state that, “Huerta succeeded in gaining the right to bargain collectively, establishing the first health and benefits plans for farm workers, and helped to bring about the banning of pesticides DDT and parathyon…”(354-355). This alone gives humanity to human beings. And through the time period of the Delano Grape Strike negotiated around 200 contracts of farm workers. These are just a few examples that Huerta has pushed for. Her restless urge to create change and promote justice for those have been silenced, forgotten and used shows that she truly suffices to the topic of taking a stand.
Dolores Huerta has took a tremendous stand for immigrant farm workers by truly being an organizer, a protester and negotiator, which have all lead to a sense of decency and civility in being an immigrant farm worker and defeated an aspect of injustice. A true American hero, such as Dolores Huerta, makes change for the sake of change, not recognition. This woman has faced barriers of sexism, racism, and has had 11 children in her lifetime, yet still stands proudly for what she believes in will probably do so until the day she dies. History has proven anyone can take a stand for change, but a special kind of person can live for change. Her perseverance and modesty has made her a role model for people all around the world seeking freedom from indecency.