In Memoriam: Dolores Huerta
Photo, above: Jessica Manriquez Jewell, CRLA President & CEO (left), Dolores Huerta (center), Marisol Aguilar, CRLA Executive Vice President & Deputy CEO (right) in attendance at CRLA's Bakersfield Meet and Greet, 2023, as referenced below. Dolores spoke at the event.
CRLA President and CEO Jessica Manriquez Jewell shared the following letter with all staff Wednesday, October 28, 2026.
Dear Staff and Board,
By now, you likely have heard of the passing of Dolores Huerta. This morning we lost a leader, a powerhouse, an inspiration.
Dolores dedicated her life, at great personal sacrifice, to creating a more just and equitable world. She wasn’t simply someone who advocated for our communities – she was part of our community. She represented rural California, working families, farmworkers, and all people who have been pushed to the margins.
Dolores was deeply rooted in the Central Valley, beginning her career as a leader in the Stockton Community Service Organization (CSO). From those roots she grew into a force for justice at the state and national level, as co-founder of the United Farm Workers, a savvy lobbyist and legislative advocate advancing protections and benefits for rural communities, a campaigner for feminism and women's rights, and a movement builder cultivating the next generation of grassroots organizers through the Dolores Huerta Foundation.
Dolores was an important ally for CRLA throughout our history, from serving on our first Board of Directors to collaborating on important education advocacy in Kern County.
She did all of this with the courage and determination that it took to be a woman leader in a movement and society dominated by men.
Through all of it she remained relentless. Even late in life, anyone who thought she was “retired” was very much mistaken. Well into her last weeks, you could find her canvassing, speaking out, and even meeting with the Pope.
It was this spirit and determination that made Dolores a role model for me personally.
I grew up in Riverbank, the daughter and granddaughter of immigrants and agricultural workers. The farmworker movement and wider labor movement are woven into my family’s shared memories and my vocation as a civil rights attorney.
When I was growing up, I was confident that I could do something about the injustices I saw around me because of leaders like Dolores Huerta.
When I became a mom, I prided myself on teaching my girls about people like Dolores, so they would know that societal pressures and expectations were things to be challenged and were not limitations on their abilities and potential.
When I became the first woman CEO of CRLA, Dolores became even more of a role model as I navigated this new experience.
I will never forget a piece of advice she gave me in my first year. We were sharing mushroom enchiladas at a restaurant in Bakersfield and I asked her: “How did you do it all? As a leader, as a woman, as a mother? How did you balance it all?”
She looked up from her plate and said flatly, “I didn’t. You don’t.” She told me it takes a village. You cannot do it all alone. She reminded me, you need a team; you need your community; you need those people around you to get through it all.
That conversation is something I will carry with me for the rest of my life. It was sage advice that applied not only in how I want to carry on in my role as a leader, but also sage advice for how we must approach justice work. Our strength comes from the people around us.
Dolores understood that justice isn’t achieved through individual heroism. It’s achieved through organizing, relationships, solidarity, and collective power. CRLA’s work is part of that same movement. Our role is not to be the heroes of our communities, but to work alongside them and help build their power.
That’s what I will remember from the life and lessons that Dolores lived. Because her legacy isn’t confined to her individual accomplishments. Her legacy lives in the countless people she organized, mentored, inspired, and empowered to lead.
There have been a lot of emotions today, but above all I feel gratitude. I’m grateful for her extraordinary life, for her sacrifices, and for the example that she set. I’m grateful to her family for sharing her with all of us. I’m grateful to have the privilege to continue the work – because the struggle for justice continues, particularly in this moment when so many fundamental rights that she fought to protect are under attack.
Pero, se puede? Si se puede!
Our hearts go out to her family, especially her son Emilio, our friend and CRLA Board Member. And we will honor Dolores’ life and memory by carrying forward her courage, relentlessness, and belief in collective action.
Dolores Huerta – presente.
