Horticultural Spotlight: Celebrating Hispanic Heritage Month
Photo by Nolwen Cifuentes, Glamour
New England Botanic Garden at Tower Hill celebrates the diverse backgrounds and experiences of people who have made an impact on the worldwide study and practice of horticulture. During Hispanic Heritage Month, September 15 through October 15, New England Botanic Garden at Tower Hill spotlights present-day and historic changemakers in the plant world who identify as Hispanic.
Today we spotlight Dolores Huerta, an advocate for workers rights, women’s rights, and immigrants.
Dolores Huerta (nee Fernandez) was born into a family of activists in a small mining town in New Mexico and spent most of her childhood in Stockton, California. Her father, Juan, was a farm worker and miner, as well as a union activist, who was elected to the New Mexico legislature. Her mother, Alicia, was community-minded entrepreneur who operated a 70-room hotel which offered affordable and free rooms for her low-wage employees.
Young Dolores was surrounded by cultural diversity in Stockton, including Mexican, Filipino, African-American, Japanese, and Chinese agricultural workers. Dolores was active in her community as a young person and pursued a college degree in teaching. However, her lifelong journey for economic justice began when many of her students came to school hungry and without shoes.
Dolores become active in the Stockton community, founding the Agricultural Workers Association and National Farm Workers Association, setting up voter registration drivers, lobbying for disability insurance for farm workers, and beyond. Her activism was instrumental in the enactment of the Agricultural Labor Relations Act of 1975, which granted farm workers in California the right to organize.
Dolores continued to be active in grassroot campaigns to support migrant farmers and workers rights, as well as a women’s rights, finding alliance with Gloria Steinem and the burgeoning feminist movement of the 1970s. Shifting from union work to women’s rights, Dolores became active in campaigns to encourage Latinas to run for elected office.
Dolores Huerta’s advocacy has been recognized nationwide. She was inducted into the National Women’s Hall of Fame in 1993; awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 2012; and became the inaugural recipient of the Eleanor Roosevelt Award for Human Rights. April 10th is designated Dolores Huerta Day in California.
Dolores continues to fight for social justice and public policy that affects working women and immigrants. She is the founder and president of the Dolores Huerta Foundation. You can hear more about her story in the 2017 documentary “Dolores,” available on Amazon Prime Video.