Honoring Dolores Huerta: A Life That Taught Us to Believe in the Power of the People

Dolores Huerta, the organizer who helped build the farmworker movement and coined the rallying cry “¡Sí, se puede!,” died Wednesday, October 28, at her home in Bakersfield. She was 96. Her organizing life began in Stockton, the same city Faith in the Valley calls home, and it shaped the soil we still organize in today.

As the news spread across the Valley, Faith in the Valley Executive Director Pastor Curtis Smith shared this reflection.

Here are his words in full:

“Today, we mourn the passing of a giant in the struggle for justice, a courageous freedom fighter, and a fellow laborer in the sacred work of liberation—Dolores Huerta.

For those of us who have dedicated our lives to organizing communities, confronting injustice, and building collective power in California’s Central Valley, this loss is deeply personal.

We have not simply lost a civil rights icon. We have lost a colleague in the struggle, an elder in the movement, and a living reminder that ordinary people, when organized and united, have the extraordinary power to transform the world.

Dolores Huerta understood something that remains at the heart of Faith in the Valley’s mission: Justice is not something we wait for those in power to give us. It is something we build together.

From the fields of the Central Valley to the halls of political power, Dolores challenged systems that exploited workers, marginalized immigrants, silenced women, and denied communities their dignity. She understood that our neighbors and loved ones who harvest our food, sustain our economy and strengthen our communities deserve more than recognition. They deserve justice, dignity, and a voice in the decisions that shape their lives.

Her journey was rooted in the very soil where we organize today. From Stockton to Delano, from Bakersfield to communities throughout the San Joaquin Valley, her legacy is woven into the history of our region.

And she never stopped organizing.

Even as the world celebrated her accomplishments, Dolores understood that the struggle was far from over. She knew that movements are not sustained by the recognition of individual leaders, but by the development of new generations willing to carry the work forward.

As Executive Director of Faith in the Valley, I recognize that we stand on the shoulders of people like Dolores Huerta. Our work to build power among communities of faith, immigrant families, working people, and those historically pushed to the margins is part of the same continuing struggle for human dignity and liberation.

Her struggle is our struggle. Her unfinished work is our responsibility. And her legacy must become our renewed commitment.
As a person of faith, I believe there is something sacred about a life poured out in service to others. Dolores demonstrated that faith in humanity must be accompanied by the courage to confront injustice. She reminded us that hope is not passive, that solidarity requires sacrifice, and that liberation demands collective action.

She also taught us that the movement must be bigger than any one person. Its strength must be measured by how many people discover their own voice, exercise their own power, and become leaders in their communities.

Today, we extend our deepest condolences to her family, to the Dolores Huerta Foundation, and to the countless organizers, workers, and community leaders whose lives she touched.

But even in our grief, we hear the call to continue.

We must continue organizing. Continue building bridges across race, faith, and generations. Continue standing with immigrant families. Continue fighting for economic dignity, racial justice, and the right of every person to live free from fear and oppression.

Because the most meaningful way to honor Dolores Huerta is not simply to remember what she accomplished, but to continue what she started.

Dolores gave us more than a slogan. She gave us a responsibility.

Sí, se puede was never merely a declaration of possibility. It was a challenge to believe in the power of ordinary people and to act upon that belief.

And so, as we honor her life, we recommit ourselves to the work of building a Central Valley where every family is sacred, every voice matters, and every community has the power to shape its own future.

Rest in power, Dolores Huerta!

Your labor was not in vain. Your courage has inspired generations. Your legacy lives in every organizer who refuses to give up, every worker who demands dignity, every family that stands against injustice, every volunteer that shows up for their neighbors, and every community that discovers the power of its collective voice.

The struggle continues. The movement lives on.

¡Sí, se puede!”