96 years of "Sí, se puede": Dolores Huerta’s impact on food equity
Today, April 10th, we celebrate the 96th birthday of the legendary Dolores Huerta. While many icons of the civil rights era have passed into history, Dolores remains a vibrant force, reminding us that “every moment is an organizing opportunity, every person a potential activist, every minute a chance to change the world.”
Dolores’ path was paved by two powerful influences. Her father, Juan Fernández, was a farmworker, miner, and union activist who won a seat in the New Mexico legislature in 1938, providing a blueprint for political power and labor rights. Yet, it was through her mother, Alicia Chavez, that Dolores first saw feminism in action. Alicia owned a hotel where she frequently provided free housing and meals to farmworker families. Her parents taught Dolores the value of political leadership and community care.
These influences converged when Dolores became a schoolteacher. Seeing farmworker children coming to school hungry and barefoot, she realized she couldn’t just teach. She had to organize their parents to demand dignity. This journey led her to challenge a systemic irony: the very people who harvest our nation’s food struggle to put food on their own tables.
This disparity was baked into our laws. For decades, farmworkers were excluded from the 1935 National Labor Relations Act, leaving them without basic protections. To combat this, Dolores successfully lobbied the California legislature in 1963 to secure Aid to Families with Dependent Children (AFDC) and disability insurance for farmworkers. She fought tirelessly to expand nutrition programs to non-citizens and migrant families rooted in a belief that food is a human right – a belief we share at RESULTS.
For me, this impact is deeply personal. Growing up as a Chicana in Indiana with a long line of farmers on both sides of my family, I was raised on stories of heroes like Dolores. Even though machismo often centered men in these stories, Dolores stood out. I came to learn about her through my mom, Diane, who used to say “¡Sí, se puede!” as a reminder of our collective strength. It is a point of immense pride to know that Dolores coined that rallying cry during a 1972 fast, asserting our power when others said it wasn’t possible.
Through my mom, I saw Dolores not as a name in a book, but as a living example of community care. Dolores has spent decades confronting gender violence and building coalitions to bring more women and non-men to the front lines, reshaping what leadership looks like. She organized across Chinese, Black, Filipino, Mexican, Indigenous, other Spanish-speaking communities, and LGBTQ+ lines. She understood early on that collective power requires solidarity.
For millions of us, we understand Dolores through the hard work, care, and love that sustains our communities. As we honor her 96 years, we don’t just celebrate the past. We honor her by continuing the long haul of advocacy, protecting SNAP, expanding equity, and ensuring that the hands that harvest our food are never empty.
Happy Birthday, Dolores. ¡Sí, se puede!
Image by Gage Skidmore