Over 20 years ago, I invited Dolores Huerta to a first-time event in Glendale celebrating the Latino culture. It wasn’t a big stage or a major headline, but Dolores came and with her more attention to the needs of our community. Nearly two decades later, we were proud to name her ABC’s very first Legacy Award honoree. The following year, she joined our cafécito sessions at our inaugural State of Latina/os in Los Angeles conference. She didn’t just speak. She took time to sit with young Latinas, share her journey, and listen to theirs. We weren’t surprised. That’s who Dolores was. Whether the room was big or small, she showed up, inspired and reminded us of our collective power.
Dolores Huerta lived with purpose and never tired of fulfilling it, even when it called for great sacrifice. She was a tireless trailblazer who harnessed people power around civil rights and social justice issues, including workers’ rights, education equity, women’s reproductive health, immigrant rights, LGBTQ+ rights, and civic participation, and she did so by leading with love. That love was visible in every march, every negotiation, every rally, and every room across the country and never slowed down.
Photos of Dolores decorate the ABC office. For many here, she is a personal hero. She never stopped working alongside our community, showing us that how we fight matters as much as what we fight for. We see her legacy in the farmworkers who won protections and fair wages, and in the women and Latinas she pushed to lead and run for office. We see it in the multiracial coalitions she built, from the Filipino and Mexican farmworkers who went on strike together in Delano to her lifelong commitment to Black and Brown solidarity. Dolores showed us that our power multiplies when we show up for one another.
ABC’s founding members and current leaders can trace their roots back to Dolores’ organizing work. We are here in part because of what she accomplished. Dolores spent decades registering voters and knocking on doors, and in 2021, she answered my call again to lend her voice to our new Get Out The Vote efforts. Latinas and Latinos hold enormous power in this country, and now more than ever, it is essential that we recognize that collective power and use our voice to reshape unacceptable conditions. Let us honor Dolores together, let us carry her legacy and energy by voting early before November 3rd; for our families, for immigrant communities, for workers, for education and health care, and for the dignity of every person.
Our thoughts are with her family, her loved ones, and everyone whose life she touched.
Dolores, thank you for showing us the way. Descansa en poder.
Vanessa Aramayo, President & CEO with Dalia Velasco, Director of Strategy, and the ABC Team