Dolores Huerta marched for civil rights, women’s rights and for people who pick our fruits and vegetables. She even co-founded the renowned labor union United Farm Workers with Cesar Chavez.
At 95 years old, Huerta remains active in public life, speaking at a Los Angeles ICE raids protest earlier this month.
Huerta spoke with KPBS’s Amita Sharma about today’s political climate. Their conversation is below. It has been edited for length and clarity.
Dolores, you've been a community organizer, a labor organizer. You've lobbied and negotiated for people who held little power in our society, how would you describe the state of social justice in America today?
Huerta: I would say it's lacking. We're seeing that everybody's rights are being trampled, and people are coming together now to try to fight back. But I would say that social justice is in the dark right now, in the closet. It's totally gone.
What concerns you the most about what's happening right now?
Huerta: Well, it concerns me that so many people's rights are being taken away from them. I mean, I think none of us, even ... I'm 95 years old, and I lived right after the Depression, World War II, the '60s and the '70s, the Vietnam War, and I have never seen anything as horrific as what we are seeing now in terms of the way people here in the United States are being treated.
As you just mentioned, your activism stretches back decades, and you scored big wins. You secured aid for dependent families and disability insurance for farm workers — not to mention obtaining their right to organize. Given those victories, did you ever anticipate a time in the United States such as what we're seeing now?
Huerta: We were forewarned before the election about Project 2025. We were told that Project 2025 included, we have seen the manifestations of that right now that yes, the billionaires wanted more authority and they wanted a dictatorship, and we're seeing that it's being played out. So it isn't that we were not warned. We were warned, but people didn't believe it.
Why do you think that people did not pay attention to the warnings about what might be coming down the pike?
Huerta: People didn't believe it. People didn't examine. I think that nobody thought that anyone would take these horrific actions against people here in the United States of America, if they're citizens or residents. Nobody thought that anyone would ever act that way. Of course, people of color who have always been met with a lot of oppressive behavior, they know because they have lived it. But a lot of the majority of people here did not know. But now they have seen it and they are showing up to say, 'We do not like this.' As they have said, 'we don't want a king. We want a democracy.' But we know that we have to work very, very hard if we're going to save our democracy and even save our society at this point.
For people who are concerned about mass deportations, potential cuts to Medicaid and food stamps, the deployment of the military in response to protests, which have gotten violent at times, what is the path forward? How can they effect change?
Huerta: The violence has not warranted the type of response of having the National Guard — having 4,000 troops of the National Guard — coming to Los Angeles. There were some random acts of defiance, I would say, but not to the extent that they had to send in the National Guard. Right now, what we have to do is just continue to protest. I think we had 5 million people on the streets on the No Kings Day, that really shows that people understand that they have the power to speak up. We see that people are fighting back, and this is what we need. We just need more and more people, and not to give up, not to get tired, because we're going to have to keep doing this as long as this dictatorship actions are taking place.
What have you learned about the value of protests and just the overall fight for social justice over the decades that can be applied now?
Huerta: Well, I am promoting very much that we go back to Gandhi and the peaceful and nonviolence, the way that he was able to liberate India. Dr. Martin Luther King, the way he did to get the civil rights successful in the South, and of course, Cesar and the Farm Workers Movement. We were able to win by using nonviolence. I know it's hard for people to understand that, but it has a power of its own. If we can just say that not only should we practice nonviolence, we've got to make sure when we're on those protest marches that we check and see if anybody is using any violence, if we stop them, because they will bring in perpetrators. They will bring in people to create violence just to justify the oppressive actions that they are taking.
Dolores, do you think that the younger generation is prepared for a moment like this, is prepared to do what you just outlined?
Huerta: Well, we have seen that the people are stepping up and being very, very bold, that they're not afraid to speak up and speak out, so to speak. They have all of these tools at their disposal that we didn't have back there in the '50s and the '60s. They have the social media platforms, and they can mobilize very, very quickly. I have a lot of faith in the young people, and yes, they are coming out. We just have to tell them that, remember, this is going to be a long fight. Don't give up. Just hang in there and keep organizing, organizing, organizing.
Dolores, you turned 95 in April. What keeps you going? What keeps you politically active?
Huerta: Knowing all of the work that we have to do, and we do know that our main job is to recruit more people to come into the movement because we do know that the more of us that can participate, this is the way that we can make the changes that we need to make, and this is the way that we can win. The work is out there for us to do, and we don't need an invitation, all right? It's there, and you all come in, and we all have to work very, very hard.
