We Stand With Dolores Huerta! - Poster of the Week

politicalgraphics
Mar 27
3 min read

Posters clockwise from top:

¡Sí, Se Puede! - Dolores Huerta
Maria Hollenbach; TABS: Aids for ending Sexism in Schools; The Archives of Labor and Urban Affairs, Wayne State University; Organization for Equal Education of the Sexes, Inc., Offset, 1987, Brooklyn, NY, 13289
Women's Work is Never Done
Yolanda M. Lopez; Berkeley Art Center; Alliance Graphics, Silkscreen, 1995, Berkeley, CA, 6038
Dolores
Barbara Carrasco, Center for the Study of Political Graphics, Silkscreen, 2014 from 1999 original, Los Angeles, CA, 43770
[Photo of Dolores Huerta Holding a Boycott Grapes Sign]
Helaine Victoria Press, 1985, Santa Monica, CA, 87411

On Wednesday March 18th, The New York Times published an article describing César Chávez’s sexual assault and abuse of several women and children, including Dolores Huerta, co-founder of the United Farm Workers (UFW). In the article, Dolores Huerta, who coined the slogan “Sí, se puede!”, revealed that she had been sexually assaulted by Chávez twice, in 1960 and 1966, both times resulting in pregnancy.

Two other women were named in the article, Ana Murguia and Debra Rojas, and shared that Chávez groomed and sexually abused them when they were minors. Murguia and Rojas, who are now in their 60s, suffered from mental health and substance abuse issues following the abuse. A dozen other women describe being sexually harassed or pursued by Chávez, including two unnamed women involved in the UFW movement who gave birth to Chávez’s children.

Huerta described the sexism she faced in the UFW movement, which included being relegated to lesser roles and called sexist slurs by Chávez during union board member meetings. Huerta shared that Chávez believed women in the movement were useful for working, but did not deserve to make policy decisions for the union. She believed it was a larger problem in the movement that men viewed women as sex objects, not as human beings.

Throughout her time working for the UFW, Huerta bargained for higher wages, fought for safer working conditions, negotiated for healthcare benefits, and helped organize national grape boycotts. Outside of her work with UFW, she has supported movements from civic engagement to LGBTQ+ rights, and continuously fought for immigrants’, womens’, and workers’ rights. In 2002, she established the Dolores Huerta Foundation, its mission is to equip underserved communities with the necessary tools to fight for social justice. Huerta received the Eleanor Roosevelt Human Rights Award in 1998 and Presidential Medal of Freedom Award in 2012 for her work in the United Farm Workers movement. In 2014, Huerta received CSPG's Culture of Liberation Award.

Huerta, Murguia, Rojas, and all women in the UFW movement deserve recognition for their contributions in the movement. They should also be lauded for their courage in coming forward about their experiences of sexual abuse and harassment. This pattern of sexual assault, harassment, abuse, and blatant sexism is abhorrent, cruel, and unjustifiable from anyone, especially from Chávez, who claimed to fight for civil rights while actively harming those within the movement.

We must continue to call out abuse and abusers, and hold them accountable for their immoral and unjust actions.

We stand with Dolores! We stand with survivors!

Stop Violence Against Women

Amnesty International

Offset, Circa 2005

24461

References:

16 Ways You Can Stand Against Rape Culture | UN Women

Statistics on Sexual Violence | CDC

Resources:

National Sexual Assault Hotline, operated by RAINN

Call 1-800-656-HOPE (4673) | Text "HOPE" to 64673 | Live Chat