Dolores Huerta Quotes & Sayings

Why is it that farmworkers feed the nation but they can't get food stamps? — Dolores Huerta

I think organized labor is a necessary part of democracy. Organized labor is the only way to have fair distribution of wealth. — Dolores Huerta

Every single day we sit down to eat, breakfast, lunch, and dinner, and at our table we have food that was planted, picked, or harvested by a farm worker. Why is it that the people who do the most sacred work in our nation are the most oppressed, the most exploited? — Dolores Huerta

Professional farmworkers who know how to do a number of different jobs, whether it be pruning or picking or crafting, they see themselves as professionals, and they take a lot of pride in that work. They don't see themselves as doing work that is demeaning. — Dolores Huerta

Walk the street with us into history. Get off the sidewalk. — Dolores Huerta

We as women should shine light on our accomplishments and not feel egotistical when we do. It's a way to let the world know that we as women can accomplish great things! — Dolores Huerta

If you haven't forgiven yourself something, how can you forgive others. — Dolores Huerta

If we don't have workers organized into labor unions, we're in great peril of losing our democracy. — Dolores Huerta

My dad was very intelligent, had a very strong personality. I was amazed with my father. — Dolores Huerta

Every moment is an organizing opportunity, every person a potential activist, every minute a chance to change the world. — Dolores Huerta

We can't let people drive wedges between us ... because there's only one human race. — Dolores Huerta

Respecting other people's rights is peace. — Dolores Huerta

We criticize and separate ourselves from the process. We've got to jump right in there with both feet. — Dolores Huerta

My mother never made me do anything for my brothers, like serve them. I think that's an important lesson, especially for the Latino culture, because the women are expected to be the ones that serve and cook and whatever. Not in our family. Everybody was equal. — Dolores Huerta

My mother was a very wonderful woman. When she and my dad divorced, she moved to California and worked two jobs in the cannery at night and as a waitress during the day. But she saved enough money to establish a restaurant. — Dolores Huerta

I think we brought to the world, the United States anyway, the whole idea of boycotting as a nonviolent tactic. I think we showed the world that nonviolence can work to make social change. — Dolores Huerta

That's the history of the world. His story is told, hers isn't. — Dolores Huerta

My mother was a dominant force in our family. And I always saw her as the leader. And that was great for me as a young woman, because I never saw that women had to be dominated by men. — Dolores Huerta

I remember as a little girl going down to the beet fields in the Dakotas and in Nebraska and Wyoming as migrant workers when I was very, very small, like, I was, like, 5 years old, I believe. And I remember going out there, you know, traveling to these states and living in these little tarpaper shacks that they had in Wyoming. — Dolores Huerta

I quit because I can't stand seeing kids come to class hungry and needing shoes. I thought I could do more by organizing farm workers than by trying to teach their hungry children. — Dolores Huerta

When you have a conflict, that means that there are truths that have to be addressed on each side of the conflict. And when you have a conflict, then it's an educational process to try to resolve the conflict. And to resolve that, you have to get people on both sides of the conflict involved so that they can dialogue. — Dolores Huerta

How do I stop eleven million people from buying the grape? — Dolores Huerta

The great social justice changes in our country have happened when people came together, organized, and took direct action. It is this right that sustains and nurtures our democracy today. The civil rights movement, the labor movement, the women's movement, and the equality movement for our LGBT brothers and sisters are all manifestations of these rights. — Dolores Huerta

Don't be a marshmallow. Walk the street with us into history. Get off the sidewalk. Stop being vegetables. Work for Justice. Viva the boycott! — Dolores Huerta

The thing about nonviolence is that it spreads. When you get people to participate in nonviolent action - whether it's a fast, a march, a boycott, or a picket line - people hear you, people see you, people are learning from that action. — Dolores Huerta

Honor the hands that harvest your crops. — Dolores Huerta

Among our people, theres not any question about women being strong
even stronger than men
they work in the fields right along with the men. When your survival is at stake, you dont have these questions about yourself like middle
class women do. — Dolores Huerta

We must use our lives to make the world a better place to live, not just to acquire things. That is what we are put on the earth for. — Dolores Huerta

Giving kids clothes and food is one thing, but it's much more important to teach them that other people besides themselves are important and that the best thing they can do with their lives is to use them in the service of other people. — Dolores Huerta