At 96, Dolores Huerta was still arriving at parties when others were ready to call it a night.
San Joaquin Delta College trustee Janet Rivera recalled crossing paths with the legendary labor organizer during the National Association of Latino Elected and Appointed Officials conference in June. Rivera and several colleagues were leaving after a long evening, hoping to rest before the next day’s activities.
Huerta, meanwhile, was heading upstairs.
“No, it’s just beginning. You know, come on upstairs,” Huerta told them, according to Rivera.
Rivera and her colleagues declined, but Huerta continued on her way.
“She was a fighter,” Rivera recalled. “She had so much gumption and fight.”
Four months later, Rivera recounted the encounter through tears Wednesday as she reflected on the loss of a woman whose determination, courage and energy had inspired generations.
Huerta, the pioneering labor organizer, civil rights advocate and co-founder of the United Farm Workers, died Wednesday at her home in Bakersfield. She was 96.
Her family announced her death through the Dolores Huerta Foundation, requesting privacy and saying plans to celebrate her life would be shared later.
For Stockton, the loss carries particular significance. Long before Huerta became a national figure, her journey began in the city where she grew up, attended school and discovered the injustices that would shape her life’s work.
A legacy rooted in Stockton
Born in New Mexico in 1930, Huerta moved to Stockton with her mother and brothers during her childhood. She graduated from Stockton High School in 1947 and earned a provisional teaching credential at what was then Stockton College, now San Joaquin Delta College, in 1953.
Her experience teaching children who arrived at school hungry and without shoes helped inspire her commitment to economic justice, according to her foundation’s biography.
Huerta later became involved in the Stockton Community Service Organization, organizing voter registration drives and advocating for improvements in Latino neighborhoods.
In 1962, she co-founded the National Farm Workers Association with César Chávez, helping launch the movement that would become the United Farm Workers. Her organizing and legislative advocacy contributed to significant labor protections for agricultural workers, including California’s Agricultural Labor Relations Act of 1975.
Despite her national recognition, Rivera said Huerta maintained a connection to the community where her activism began.
“She never forgot Stockton. She never forgot Delta College,” Rivera said.
Rivera described Huerta as a role model for generations of Latinas, particularly women who sought independence and opportunities that had historically been denied to them.
Delta College also mourned the loss of one of its most celebrated former students, recalling Huerta’s return to campus in 2025 to speak at Atherton Auditorium.
The college dedicated Dolores Huerta Plaza in her honor in 2018.
“The next Dolores Huerta may have been sitting in that audience,” the college said in a statement Wednesday. “The next great champion for civil rights may be walking our campus today, pursuing an education and discovering their own power to change the world.”
For Belinda Seibel, a Stockton native, Delta College alumna and Sacramento State student studying political science and journalism, Huerta has been a familiar figure for as long as she can remember.
“I can’t remember a time when I didn’t know who Dolores Huerta was,” Seibel said.
She recalled learning more about Huerta in high school as she developed a deeper understanding of workers’ rights and economic inequality. Huerta’s commitment to organizing farmworkers, whom Seibel described as among the country’s most exploited laborers, left a lasting impression.
“I was devastated to hear about her passing,” Seibel said. “Of course her legacy will live on in all those who demand better working conditions, but it’s still heartbreaking.”
For Seibel, Huerta’s story is also a source of pride in her hometown. She pointed to Stockton’s labor history, including its connections to Filipino American labor organizer Larry Itliong, who helped lead the Delano grape strike and the farmworker movement alongside Huerta and Chavez.
“I’m incredibly proud of being from the same place she spent so many years organizing, as well as going to Delta college, the same community college that she went to,” Seibel said.
“It’s now up to all of us to continue the fight for the working class.”
Remembering a friend and fighter
Across the region, elected officials and community organizations remembered Huerta not only for her historic accomplishments but also for the personal relationships she maintained and her willingness to stand alongside others.
State Sen. Jerry McNerney described Huerta as a dear friend and longtime political ally, recalling how she returned to Stockton in 2010 to support him during one of the most difficult congressional campaigns of his career.
“When the stakes were highest, Dolores came right back home to Stockton to stand beside me, rally our community, and get out the vote,” McNerney said in a statement.
“That was Dolores, she showed up when you needed her most, full of energy, purpose, and grit.”
Assemblymember Rhodesia Ransom, D-Tracy, also remembered Huerta as a mentor and friend who supported her political career.
“I was honored to know Dolores personally, and I will always be grateful for the support she showed me when she came to my district to stand with me during my campaign,” Ransom wrote in a Facebook tribute.
U.S. Rep. Josh Harder, D-Tracy, described Huerta as a giant whose advocacy changed the lives of working families throughout the San Joaquin Valley and beyond.
David Sengthay, president of Stockton Democrats Together, emphasized how Huerta’s early organizing work in the city continues to influence local activism.
“Everyone who organizes in this city is walking a path she cleared,” Sengthay said in a statement.
The organization encouraged residents to honor Huerta by registering voters, participating in elections and remaining engaged in their communities.
The tributes also extended beyond Stockton.
United Farm Workers President Teresa Romero remembered Huerta as a tireless advocate for farmworkers, immigrants, women, LGBTQ+ people and marginalized communities, as well as a mentor to generations of union organizers.
“Her life’s work was to empower her community to face and overcome injustices, and she has left farm workers and the entire Latino community stronger and more organized than she found it,” Romero said in a statement.
“The greatest possible tribute to her life is for her work of organizing to continue,” she added.
President Barack Obama, who awarded Huerta the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 2012, called her “a hero of mine” in a social media tribute Wednesday.
Obama praised her decades of advocacy and acknowledged the sexism and abuse she endured, including within the movement she helped establish. Earlier this year, Huerta publicly disclosed that Chávez had sexually abused her decades earlier.
Obama also credited Huerta with originating the rallying cry “Sí, se puede,” which inspired his own presidential campaign slogan, “Yes, we can.”
“But as usual, Dolores got there first,” he wrote.
Carrying her fight forward
For Rivera, Huerta’s passing represents a profound loss for women and Latinas who looked to her as an example of what they could accomplish.
“It’s a big loss for women. It’s a big loss for women’s rights,” Rivera said. “She’s a legend. She’s a warrior, and she has a huge legacy.”
Rivera encouraged the Delta College community to continue supporting scholarships and educational opportunities associated with Huerta’s legacy, particularly for young women pursuing their ambitions.
She also recalled Huerta’s message about perseverance and refusing to give up, even when faced with obstacles.
“If somebody knocks you down, get back up, go at it again,” Rivera said, describing the advice Huerta offered.
For Seibel, honoring Huerta means continuing the work she started, from advocating for higher wages to demanding better working conditions and protections for workers.
“She planted seeds of trees she will never be able to sit in the shade of, and I am eternally grateful to her for the sacrifices she made so that we will be able to live a dignified life,” she said.