Dolores Huerta (FREDERIC J. BROWN/AFP via Getty Images)
On Friday, labor leader and activist Dolores Huerta turned 90—and she will not stop working for families any time soon.
She will celebrate her birthday with a live-stream benefit for communities directly impacted by coronavirus on Saturday, May 16.
In a press release shared with Latino Rebels, it was announced how the Dolores Huerta Foundation (DHF) will make it happen.
“The May 16 remote-attendance party will feature a roster of special guests for a night of entertainment and activism. The goal is to raise funds for the Dolores Huerta Foundation’s (DHF) frontline efforts to mitigate the impact of the pandemic in the regions of California where politically disempowered, low income, immigrant, and farmworker communities are disproportionately impacted.”
The fundraiser hopes to address the remote learning inequities in public schools and the insufficient meal provisions for low-income students. Coupled with that it will aim the need for labor protections and legislative income support for vulnerable communities.
“It is a great honor to be recognized on my 90th birthday. I want to thank everyone who will be celebrating with me today and on May 16th and ask them to continue to work for justice and equality,” Huerta said in the release.
Huerta co-founded the United Farm Workers with Cesar Chavez and originated the phrase “¡Sí Se Puede!” while fighting on behalf of exploited farmworkers. She received the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 2012 for her pioneering political activism and community organizing. She continues to advance social justice through her foundation, DHF, which focuses on education justice, increasing civic engagement, LGBTQ equality, and eradicating child poverty.
Further details on the celebration plans will be released later this month. The doloreshuerta90.org has more information.
