STOCKTON, California — She was a farmworker rights activist who co-founded the United Farm Workers Union with Cesar Chavez. But what many people may not know is Dolores Huerta had her formative years of life growing up in Stockton.
"Her time in Stockton really shaped the activist she became," said San Joaquin Delta College Professor Sarah Seekatz. "She wanted to be a teacher so she could change young people's lives."
Huerta was a graduate of Stockton High School. She then went to college at Stockton College, which was the predecessor to San Joaquin Delta College.
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Stockton College was then on the campus of the University of the Pacific. Seekatz said a lot of what shaped Huerta's activism happened when she was a young teacher.
"She has talked about in the classroom having students whose parents were farmworkers, or students who were farmworkers that were coming to school with really hungry bellies and no shoes on their feet. And that really impacted what she wanted to do moving forward," said Seekatz. "She felt that she could make more change organizing their parents to fight for equality, to fight for better pay so she could change their life in that way."
Seekatz said Huerta's mother also had a big impact on the young activist moving forward.
"Her mom ended up having a pretty large hotel or boarding house in an area of Stockton, El Dorado Street, that was really diverse," said Seekatz. "She learned leadership through her mom, who really encouraged all her children to make changes when they saw problems."
Huerta grew up around a diverse population of people who came from different ethnic backgrounds. Seekatz said that also helped her to develop relationships and bonds that gave her the courage to unionize farm workers.
"In the neighborhood where she was she talks a lot about experiencing prejudice and issues, but also becoming friends with other ethnicities," said Seekatz. "So, she got to know Filipinos and Chinese immigrants, Japanese immigrants, African Americans."
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Luis Magana, who has been a farmworkers rights advocate himself for San Joaquin County for over 30 years, said Huerta was instrumental, along with Cesar Chavez, in the farmworker rights movement.
"Dolores Huerta was a very important symbol for farm workers and for empowering women in the fields, a strong voice that needed, in that moment, to gain rights for farmworkers," Magana said.
Magana said there is a "gap" that now exists for farmworker advocacy without Huerta's activism in the fields. Thursday's unveiling of the Dolores Huerta Plaza starts at 12:30 p.m. and ends at 1:30 p.m. There will be food, beverages, activities, and music by Stockton band Trueno Norteno. The event is free and open to the public.
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