Labor leader and civil rights activist Dolores Huerta will visit Cal State San Bernardino on Wednesday, March 7, and deliver a speech to the campus community starting at 6 p.m.

The free event, called “Sí Se Puede: A Dialogue with Dolores Huerta,” is hosted by CSUSB’s Associated Students Inc. and will be held in the Santos Manuel Student Union Events Center. Doors open at 5:30 p.m.; late entries will not be admitted after 6 p.m.

Huerta, one of history’s most notable champions for civil rights who also challenged 1950s gender convention, fought for racial and labor justice alongside fellow activist and civil rights leader César E. Chávez, and still continues to fight today at the age of 87.  

She began her activist journey in 1955, when she and Fred Ross, the founder of the Community Service Organization (CSO), started the Stockton chapter of the CSO, a grassroots group that worked to end segregation, discrimination and police brutality, and improve social and economic conditions of farm workers. In 1960, Huerta created the Agricultural Workers Association (AWA) and, a few years later, co-founded the National Farm Workers Association (NFWA) with Chávez. In 1965, the AWA and the NFWA combined to become the United Farm Workers Organizing Committee, or simply, the United Farm Workers.

Huerta’s legislative successes include securing Aid for Dependent Families (AFDC) and disability insurance for California farm workers in 1963 and the enactment of the Agricultural Labor Relations Act of 1975, the first law of its kind in the U.S. granting farm workers in California the right to collectively organize and bargain for better wages and working conditions.

Huerta, who is a recipient of the United States Presidential Medal of Freedom for civic engagement, is also the founder of the Dolores Huerta Foundation, a community benefit organization that creates leadership opportunities for community organizing, leadership development, civic engagement and policy advocacy in health and environment, education and youth development, and economic development.

The documentary “Dolores” will be shown in the Santos Manuel Student Union Theater for two days prior to Huerta’s visit. Show times will begin on Monday, March 5, at 9 a.m. and Tuesday, March 6, at 10 a.m., and will continue every two hours. Seating will be on a first-come, first-served basis. No registration is required to see the documentary.

“Sí Se Puede: A Dialogue with Dolores Huerta” is open to the CSUSB community. Those who wish to attend must register by visiting doloresatcsusb.eventbrite.com.

For more information, contact CSUSB’s Associated Student Inc. at (909) 537-5932.