ACLU SoCal Statement on Death of Dolores Huerta 

LOS ANGELES—Dolores Huerta, the iconic civil rights leader and organizer, fought on behalf of farmworkers, immigrants and racial minorities, LGBTQ people, poor people, and children for over 70 years.

Huerta was honored at the 2017 ACLU SoCal Bill of Rights Awards with the Lifetime Advocate for Justice Award.

“We are the flowers who are going to spread the seeds of justice all over this country,” Huerta said in her acceptance speech at the 2017 ACLU Bill of Rights Awards, describing organizing parents against the school-to-prison pipeline in the California Central Valley. “The people—fighting for themselves—have the power. You have the power to take up the struggle.”

Please attribute the following statement to Chandra Bhatnagar, executive director of the ACLU of Southern California:

“For her entire life and career, Dolores Huerta has been a profile in bravery, standing for justice and equality for people most impacted by human rights abuse in our country. Her tireless organizing has led generations of people to realize their own power to resist racism, misogyny, and economic exploitation. From organizing farmworkers in the 1960s to organizing against the creation of prisons for undocumented people in the 2010s, Ms. Huerta set an example that justice can prevail when we, the people, speak truth to power. She leaves an incredible legacy rooted in the concept that all people are entitled to dignity simply by virtue of their humanity.”