Dolores Huerta

No, he said, you go down there. And I thought, I can do that? And he said, yes, you can do that. All public officials are paid by our tax dollars. And you can make demands of them. So I went back to the welfare office and I got all my courage together. And I said, I want to see a supervisor. And the supervisor came out. I thought, whoa, I could do that. And to me, that was a moment of empowerment.

No, he said, you go down there. And I thought, I can do that? And he said, yes, you can do that. All public officials are paid by our tax dollars. And you can make demands of them. So I went back to the welfare office and I got all my courage together. And I said, I want to see a supervisor. And the supervisor came out. I thought, whoa, I could do that. And to me, that was a moment of empowerment.

But the way that Mr. Ross did that, you know, to make sure that I had the courage. Yes, that's right. Exactly. Yeah, that was a big lesson. That's a big lesson. Yeah, that's a lesson that we have to say to people. You do not have to be a victim. You can be the hero of your own story. And that's what we did when we organized farm workers to say, you can be the heroes of this story.

But the way that Mr. Ross did that, you know, to make sure that I had the courage. Yes, that's right. Exactly. Yeah, that was a big lesson. That's a big lesson. Yeah, that's a lesson that we have to say to people. You do not have to be a victim. You can be the hero of your own story. And that's what we did when we organized farm workers to say, you can be the heroes of this story.

And we had to go up against big ag, big oil, big banks, you know, President Nixon, Ronald Reagan, and we won.

And we had to go up against big ag, big oil, big banks, you know, President Nixon, Ronald Reagan, and we won.

I think you explained the process perfectly. In my thinking, if I don't do it, then it's not going to happen. If I don't get out there and help organize farm workers, they're never going to have a union. I quit my teaching job. in Stockton to go to Delano to start the union because I had been given that gift of knowledge of organizing that I can do this.

I think you explained the process perfectly. In my thinking, if I don't do it, then it's not going to happen. If I don't get out there and help organize farm workers, they're never going to have a union. I quit my teaching job. in Stockton to go to Delano to start the union because I had been given that gift of knowledge of organizing that I can do this.

And if I don't do it, then farm workers are always going to have to live in the same type of miserable conditions that they're working and living in. My mother used to say that. to us growing up. If you can help someone, if you have the ability, then you have an obligation and responsibility to do that. And so that has sort of been my mantra throughout my whole life.

And if I don't do it, then farm workers are always going to have to live in the same type of miserable conditions that they're working and living in. My mother used to say that. to us growing up. If you can help someone, if you have the ability, then you have an obligation and responsibility to do that. And so that has sort of been my mantra throughout my whole life.

Well, we knew that Senator Robert Kennedy, he was a champion for poor people. for people in Appalachia, for people in Brooklyn, Bedford-Stuyvesant, and that we had lost someone that would really stand up and speak for us. But at the same time, we knew that we had to continue because if Senator Robert Kennedy would have continued living, this is what he would have wanted us to do.

Well, we knew that Senator Robert Kennedy, he was a champion for poor people. for people in Appalachia, for people in Brooklyn, Bedford-Stuyvesant, and that we had lost someone that would really stand up and speak for us. But at the same time, we knew that we had to continue because if Senator Robert Kennedy would have continued living, this is what he would have wanted us to do.

So there was no way that we could stop the work. We had to do it in his honor.

So there was no way that we could stop the work. We had to do it in his honor.

Absolutely. And I think that's a good lesson for our nation. Again, if they try to kill our democracy, you know, that we have, we're the ones that have the responsibility to fight for it. And that means each and every person. And democracy, the foundation of democracy is voting.

Absolutely. And I think that's a good lesson for our nation. Again, if they try to kill our democracy, you know, that we have, we're the ones that have the responsibility to fight for it. And that means each and every person. And democracy, the foundation of democracy is voting.

Absolutely. Yeah, many people thought that I would stop my activism at that point in time. But I knew that actually we espoused the whole idea. nonviolent actions, then the way that we have to respond to violence is by showing that we can continue and that we're not going to let acts of violence stop us. Because if we do that, that means that the opposition would win. And we can't let that happen.

Absolutely. Yeah, many people thought that I would stop my activism at that point in time. But I knew that actually we espoused the whole idea. nonviolent actions, then the way that we have to respond to violence is by showing that we can continue and that we're not going to let acts of violence stop us. Because if we do that, that means that the opposition would win. And we can't let that happen.

Yeah, the response was overwhelming. We had so many flowers. We had flowers for everybody in the hospital. Really? Were you able to share them with other people? Yeah, we were able to share them with everybody. That's nice. And the people in the hospital were so kind, and they were allowing press people to come in. It was pretty overwhelming. But again, it kind of showed the support that we had.

Yeah, the response was overwhelming. We had so many flowers. We had flowers for everybody in the hospital. Really? Were you able to share them with other people? Yeah, we were able to share them with everybody. That's nice. And the people in the hospital were so kind, and they were allowing press people to come in. It was pretty overwhelming. But again, it kind of showed the support that we had.