Dolores Huerta, the iconic Latina labor and civil rights leader, addressed Texas Democrats in a surprise Q&A on stage at the state party’s convention in Corpus Christi, Texas. Huerta urged the crowd of rank-and-file activists to go all out in stirring up voter turnout this fall and calling for a massive local organizing push to turn Texas blue.
Huerta’s Message
Huerta is best known for co-founding what grew into the United Farm Workers of America union with Cesar Chavez, one of the nation’s most prominent Latino civil rights leaders. She has advocated for years for higher wages, labor protections, and women’s rights. Huerta led the crowd in chants of “sí, se puede,” the United Farm Workers motto she once coined — Spanish for “yes, you can” — that has gained widespread use in labor and political causes.
Huerta ended her time on stage by leading an ebullient crowd in a thunderous call and response that she said she wanted to reach the “haters”: “Who’s got the power?” she asked. “We’ve got the power!” Texas Democrats responded. “What kind of power?” she asked. “People power!”
Huerta’s unannounced appearance at the convention comes as Democrats in Texas and across the country are looking to reestablish themselves as the party of working people and win back Latino voters, particularly those in blue-collar jobs, who swung massively to the right in 2024.
Organizing for Change
Huerta urged Texas Democrats on Friday to get out the vote by organizing in their local communities and hosting gatherings, such as jewelry-making and Tupperware parties, to commit people to voting. She spoke about voting as the means to solve injustices and fight back against the Trump administration’s immigration and border security policy, and to pass the long-stalled Equal Rights Amendment.
“All of the punishment that we have seen that has been spent on our community — I mean, if we’re not angry at this point, we should be,” she said. “The way you make change is by getting people together, taking direct action and making it political, getting people to vote. … It’s that simple.”
Original reporting: Texas Tribune (HLL/CB) — read the source article.
