California leaders remembered Dolores Huerta, the labor leader who died at age 96, as a transformative figure who empowered Latinos, immigrant farm workers and women during a much less diverse era. She cofounded the United Farm Workers with Cesar Chavez and laid the groundwork for Latino leaders in political office today. Her death came six days before voters could elect California's first Latino governor in the modern era.
In her final months, Huerta was lauded for bravery in revealing that Chavez had raped her in 1966, prompting governments to remove his name from holidays and buildings. However, some question whether she protected the movement instead of victims, as women accused her of dismissing their complaints of sexual assault. Huerta said she was unaware Chavez abused underage girls and battled a past 'culture of misogyny.' She received the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 2012 and coined the phrase 'Sí se puede.'.
Source: New York Times Top Stories · Summarized by HeadlinesBriefing