Dolores Huerta obit

Dolores Huerta, civil rights icon, has died, her family says

 

She was not on the list.

Labor rights leader Dolores Huerta has died at age 96, but her legacy could live on right here in Eugene.

Huerta, co-founder of the United Farm Workers, died on Oct. 28 at her home in Bakersfield, California. Her family announced her death Wednesday. A spokesman for the family said the cause was cancer. She grew up in Stockton, organized farmworkers in the San Joaquin and Coachella valleys, helped lead the grape boycotts that brought national attention to conditions in California's fields, and co-founded the organization that became the United Farm Workers with César Chávez. She also coined "Sí, se puede!" (Yes, we can), a chant that can be heard at protests and rallies across the U.S. today.

In March, an investigation published by The New York Times chronicled Chávez's history of sexual abuse against women and girls, including Huerta. Chávez died in 1993 at age 66.

Huerta was quoted in the article and said Chávez used his leadership position to abuse women and children. Huerta said she had two sexual encounters with Chávez. She described being "manipulated and pressured into" one encounter and described the second encounter as rape.

Dozens of schools, streets, parks and institutions across the country named after Chávez are reconsidering the honor, including Eugene School District 4J's César E. Chávez Elementary School. At the time the report came out, social media buzzed with other naming options. Honoring Huerta seemed popular — a post suggesting so on the Eugene subreddit received over 100 upvotes.

The 4J board voted unanimously to rename the school on June 17 and began soliciting new name options earlier this month. The suggestion form closed Oct. 23.

While 4J Director of Communications Kelly McIver said the district is still tabulating the hundreds of responses the form received, "at least several dozen" suggested naming the school after Huerta.

4J's renaming committee will review the suggestions, conduct research and share a list of final names for further community feedback next month. The community feedback opens Nov. 9. The school board will hold a public discussion on the top selections in January 2027. The board has final say in the school's name and is expected to vote in February.

Although Huerta doesn't have direct ties to the Eugene-Springfield area, Huerta has visited, at least virtually, in the past. She held a video call with Springfield students in 2021, answering their questions about everything from public speaking tips to fighting racism.

"When people criticize us when we're doing something to help others, we have to take that as a blessing — una bendición — because we know that what we're doing with our good hearts that we have, (is) we are really trying to make life better for other people," Huerta is quoted in The Register-Guard's 2021 article. "So, when people criticize you like that, just ignore them. Don't let them stop you."