Arizona is a part of Dolores Huerta's legacy
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Dolores Huerta in Phoenix in 2021. Photo: Matt Young/Getty Images
Labor icon Dolores Huerta, who died Wednesday at age 96, left a lasting legacy in Arizona, the state where she coined her famous rallying cry.
Flashback: Huerta came to Arizona in 1972 with United Farm Workers, which she'd co-founded, to protest an anti-labor law that restricted organizing, strikes and boycotts by farmworkers.
- During a speech at Santa Rita Hall near downtown Phoenix, Huerta coined the famous phrase "Sí, se puede."
- "What happened here has really gone really international. And when I say that, I'm talking about 'sí, se puede,' right. Because this is where 'sí, se puede' started," she told KJZZ in 2022.
Huerta ignited controversy when she said "Republicans hate Latinos" during a 2006 speech at Tucson High Magnet School.
- The statement prompted Republican lawmakers to pass legislation in 2010 banning ethnic studies programs including Tucson Unified School District's Mexican American Studies program.
Zoom in: She was involved in numerous other political causes of moments in Arizona.
- Huerta joined singer Linda Ronstadt, U.S. Rep. Raúl Grijalva and others in Tucson in 2010 to protest the controversial illegal immigration law SB1070.
- She campaigned here against Donald Trump and U.S. Sen. John McCain in 2016.
- In 2021, she helped Feminist Majority and the Women's March Foundation deliver 15,000 postcards and letters to U.S. Sen. Kyrsten Sinema urging her to end the filibuster and help advance the Equal Rights Amendment.
Tributes to Huerta poured in from Arizona leaders after the announcement of her death.
- "Dolores Huerta was a true champion for civil rights, one of our nation's greatest activists, and a pillar of our community. Because of her advocacy, workers across the country have better pay, better working conditions, and better opportunities," said U.S. Sen. Ruben Gallego, who called her a mentor and friend.
- "For Latinas in the labor movement, her example is deeply personal. She showed us that our voices belong at the bargaining table, on the picket line, and in the halls of government," said Phoenix City Councilmember Betty Guardado.
- "She was the voice for so many communities who didn't feel like they had one. She was a champion — our guerrera until the very end, putting her all into the candidates, causes, and issues she cared deeply about," said U.S. Rep. Adelita Grijalva.
Editor's note: This story was corrected to show Huerta campaigned against Donald Trump and John McCain (not Joe Arpaio) in 2016.