Huerta brings battle, advocacy to Denver
Activist says Trump, others have “taken off the hoods”
Dolores Huerta is not done fighting.
The 87-year-old activist and organizer who co-founded the nation’s first farm workers union and coined the rallying cry “Si se puede,” spent three days in Denver energizing crowds to battle racism in America.
“Now that Trump and all these people have taken off the hoods, the white hoods … we can identify them,” she said, referencing the hoods of the Ku Klux Klan. “We know who you are now. And that’s a good thing, because now we know that the racism is out there. And that means we can do something about it.”
Her harsh words for President Donald Trump and her inherent desire to organize opposition didn’t come at a political rally but inside the darkened Mayan Theatre after screenings of the new documentary about her life, “Dolores.”
The film showcases the lesser-known story about one of the nation’s most prominent socialjustice advocates, tracing how she helped form the National Farm Workers Association with César Chávez and led the boycott of California grapes amid significant sacrifices for her family and 11 children.
In a question-and-answer forum with the audience after Saturday night’s screening, Huerta continued to speak out, bringing the screen to life and the battles of her generation into the present one.
Cristina Aguilar, the executive director of Colorado Organization for Latina Opportunity and Reproductive Rights, said she sees parallels between the discrimination then and the conversation in America now.
“We are seeing faces of the vitriol and the hate that have shifted the politics of this nation to where, effectively, many of us believe that we have a white supremacist as a president,” said Aguilar, who moderated the discussion after the film.
Huerta’s remarks about Trump and racism were powerful, she said. “I know it’s a statement that can incite many people,” she said, “but I think it speaks the truth.”
Trump called racism “evil” and white supremacists “repugnant” after a protester with ties to neo-Nazi groups drove into a crowd of protesters Aug. 12 in Charlottesville, Va., killing one and injuring others. But his attempt to blame “both sides” confused his message.
Huerta had her own message for the white nationalist movement as she noted that scientists trace all human ancestry to Africa. “We can say to the alt-right and the neo-Nazis and the KKK: Get over it, you’re African, OK?”
she said to applause and laughter from the mostly full theater.
To help change perceptions, she argued, the nation’s schools need to teach more about the contributions of people of color in the United States.
“Unless we teach that to our children, our kids of color will never ever feel that they have the dignity … and they will always feel like second-class citizens,” she said. “And in terms of our Anglo children, well, we just don’t want to grow any more neo-Nazis, right?”
Her presence at the film screening was part of her continual push for progressive causes and follows a visit to Colorado in 2014 to urge voters to reject a so-called personhood ballot measure.
Now, she’s focused on the 2018 election.
“The reason I’m following this movie all over the country is I just want to implore people to please get engaged,” she said. “It’s not just about voting: It’s about getting other people to vote.” In the midterm elections, she continued, “we can build our own wall of resistance in the U.S. Congress … to (block) whatever politics come out of the White House.”
Huerta finished her talk just as she has for decades now, whether in the fields of California and the streets of Washington, by leading the crowd in a chant of “Si se puede,” or yes, we can.