100 signatures reached
To: United States Congress and State/Local Legislatures
Make April 10th Dolores Huerta Day
Cease federal recognition of Cesar Chavez Day on March 31st and instead establish April 10th as Dolores Huerta Day, a federally recognized holiday that honors the monumental role Dolores Huerta has played in advancing farmworker labor rights and civil rights
Why is this important?
Dolores Huerta is a towering figure in American labor and civil rights history and has been a relentless champion for the rights of farm workers. She played a pivotal role in labor protests throughout the 60s and 70s, including the Delano Grape Strike, a protest of more than 2 million Mexican and Filipino farm workers who fought against exploitation. She co-founded the National Farm Workers Association (NFWA) an organization that eventually became what is known today as United Farm Workers (UFW). She is the recipient of numerous awards, including the Eleanor Roosevelt Human Rights Award, the Hispanic Heritage Award, the Puffin/Nation Prize for Creative Citizenship, and the Presidential Medal of Freedom.
She also coined the iconic motto, "Sí se puede," a phrase now synonymous with workers' rights, civil rights, and immigration reform, that across the world is recognized as a call to action and a reminder that the impossible is possible.
As March 31st is currently a federally recognized holiday known as Cesar Chavez Day, recent investigations allege that Cesar Chavez engaged in sexual abuse of minors Ana Murguía and Debra Rojas, in addition to Dolores Huerta herself. While Cesar Chavez has been widely recognized as the face of the farm workers' movement, Dolores Huerta's essential role as a co-founder, lead negotiator, and strategist to the movement has frequently been overshadowed in historical narratives. We should address the harm done, honor the survivors, and recognize the leader who Dolores Huerta continues to be today by honoring her monumental efforts which have bent the arc of history towards justice.
This petition calls for the following legislation:
- The creation of a federal holiday called Dolores Huerta Day on the civil rights leader's birthday, April 10th
- To rescind the federally recognized holiday Cesar Chavez Day on March 31st
- For all federal buildings and national sites named after Cesar Chavez to be renamed after either Dolores Huerta or to otherwise recognize other leaders of the farmworkers' movement, such as labor leader and NFWA co-founder, Gilbert Padilla. Such sites include but are not limited to:
- Cesar E. Chavez National Monument (Keene, CA)
- Cesar E. Chavez Memorial Building (Denver, CO)
- National Chavez Center (Keene, CA)
Tell Congress to do the right thing and recognize the lifetime achievements of a Chicana who dedicated her entire life to the advancement of farm workers and civil rights across this country.
¡Sí se puede!