Stockton Democrats Together joins working families across California and the nation in mourning Dolores Huerta, who died today at her home in Bakersfield at the age of 96.
Before she was a national icon, Dolores Huerta was a daughter of Stockton. She grew up here, graduated from Stockton High School in 1947, and earned her teaching credential from Stockton College, now San Joaquin Delta College, in 1953. In 1955, she helped found the Stockton chapter of the Community Service Organization. Through it, she led voter registration drives, backed bilingual candidates, and pressed local officials for equal rights for our Latino neighbors.
The organizing she began in Stockton’s neighborhoods grew into a life that changed the country. She co-founded the United Farm Workers, helped win the first farmworker union contracts in U.S. history, helped secure California’s Agricultural Labor Relations Act of 1975, and gave the movement its rallying cry: ¡Sí, se puede! Earlier this year, she showed that courage once more by speaking publicly about the abuse she survived within the movement she helped build.
Dolores Huerta proved that organizing in Stockton could change America. She started with the same tools we still use today: a clipboard, a voter registration card, and the belief that ordinary people have power. “Everyone who organizes in this city is walking a path she cleared,” said David Sengthay, President of Stockton Democrats Together.
The most fitting tribute to Dolores Huerta is the work she taught us: knock on doors, register voters, and show up for our neighbors. With Election Day just days away, we ask every Stocktonian to honor her by making sure their voice is heard.
We extend our deepest condolences to the Huerta family, the Dolores Huerta Foundation, and everyone who carries her work forward. We respect the family’s request for privacy and will share public memorial details once the family announces them.
¡Sí, se puede!
