California Gov. Newsom declares 'Dolores Huerta Day'
BEVERLY HILLS, CALIFORNIA - NOVEMBER 06: Dolores Huerta attends the WIF 2025 Honors at The Beverly Hilton on November 06, 2025 in Beverly Hills, California. (Photo by Emma McIntyre/WireImage)
SACRAMENTO, Calif. - Governor Gavin Newsom on Friday issued a proclamation declaring April 10, 2026, as "Dolores Huerta Day," which is also her birthday.
Dolores Huerta Day
Why you should care:
The move is significant as California is no longer recognizing March 28 as Cesar Chavez Day, after the New York Times revealed that Chavez had allegedly sexually assaulted and raped women, including Huerta, his longtime ally in the Latino farmworkers' movement.
In March, Huerta spoke out about the abuse, saying she didn't want to be silent any longer. She said Chavez had sex against her will twice, impregnating her twice.
Newsom called Huerta a "powerhouse for working people, civil rights, and justice," and noted she was born on this day in 1930 in Dawson, a small mining town in New Mexico.
Huerta's life
The backstory:
She spent most of her early life in the Central Valley of California, where she found her passion for fighting for the rights of workers and their families and helped pioneer a transformative farm labor movement that carries on to this day.
In 1962, Huerta co-founded the National Farm Workers Association, which organized farmworkers for better working conditions.
The organization was a predecessor of United Farm Workers, which she later founded with Chavez, Larry Itliong, Philip Vera Cruz, and other labor leaders and activists.
They were famous for the international boycott of grapes that led to the first farmworker union contracts and the watershed California Agricultural Labor Relations Act.
Newsom said even today, at age 96, she continues to be part of the Dolores Huerta Foundation, which advocates for marginalized communities.