Dolores Huerta dies at 96: North Texans remember the champion for farmworkers

Civil rights icon Dolores Huerta, a trailblazer in the fight for farmworker rights and the woman behind the rallying cry “Sí se puede,” died Wednesday, Oct. 28, 2026. She was 96.

A recipient of the Presidential Medal of Freedom, Huerta spent decades advocating for labor rights and social justice, becoming a defining figure in the Chicano civil rights movement.

Her death prompted tributes from North Texas civil rights leaders who remembered her as a tireless advocate for people whose struggles often went unnoticed.

“She was fighting for justice for people that nobody thought about. People who pick those grapes that put the wine on the tables of fancy restaurants,” Domingo Garcia, LULAC national president, said.

Huerta’s influence extended to generations of activists, including Hilda Duarte, a LULAC chaplain who recalled meeting the legendary labor leader.

“When I met her, she’s such a humble, sweet, soft-spoken woman, but her message was strong and aggressive,” Duarte said.

A legacy marked by sacrifice and painful revelations

Huerta’s death came seven months after she publicly revealed allegations of sexual abuse involving the late César Chávez, her fellow co-founder of the United Farm Workers.

Huerta claimed Chávez manipulated and pressured her into sex during the 1960s, including encounters against her will.

The allegations emerged amid a New York Times investigation that also uncovered claims that Chávez sexually assaulted girls.

For Duarte, Huerta’s decision to continue working alongside Chávez despite what she said happened to her underscored the sacrifices she made for the farmworker movement.

“To have to do that and be quiet and still work alongside the person who assaulted her just to keep the momentum going, just to keep the help going, just to make it forward, to help as many people as she could without thinking about herself. So I commend her. I commend her for the sacrifice that she made,” Duarte said.

Garcia also reflected on Huerta’s commitment to the movement despite the personal toll.

“She knew the cause was bigger than any individual and that’s what we needed to focus on,” Garcia said.

A personal connection to the farmworker movement

For Garcia, a Dallas attorney and LULAC national president, Huerta’s work carried particular significance.

He grew up working in the fields of West Texas and knew both Huerta and Chávez personally.

“I grew up as a farm worker, also picking cotton out in the fields of West Texas; I knew Cesar and Dolores,” Garcia said.

Garcia said he later spoke with Huerta during a podcast about whether schools and streets bearing Chávez’s name should be renamed in light of the allegations.

“I asked her specifically about taking the names of schools and streets of César, and she said she was against that. It was about the cause, not the individuals involved,” Garcia said.

Her response, Garcia recalled, reflected her belief that the movement for justice was bigger than any one person.

‘Sí se puede’: A message that lives on

Huerta’s legacy is closely tied to the phrase “Sí se puede,” roughly translated as “Yes, we can,” which became a rallying cry for generations of activists.

For those who knew her, Huerta’s life was defined by service to others and a commitment to creating change.

Garcia said that even toward the end of her life, Huerta continued encouraging people to make their voices heard through civic participation.

“She said people need to go vote; they need to have their voices heard,” Garcia said.

Her message of perseverance and collective action remains central to the movement she helped build.

This story was originally reported for broadcast by NBC DFW. AI tools helped convert the story into a digital article, and an NBC DFW journalist edited it again before publication.