Huerta co founded the Stockton chapter of the Community Service Organization (CSO), running voter registration drives while focusing on bettering the economic standing of Chicanxs and Latinxs. Through the CSO, Huerta would meet César Chávez, which would lead to the founding of the National Farm Workers Association (NFWA), the predecessor to the United Farm Workers’ Union (UFW). Huerta helped organize the 1965 Delano Strike and acted as the lead negotiator for all labor contracts that followed. In 1973, Huerta led an international consumer boycott of grapes which led to the groundbreaking California Agricultural Labor Relations Act of 1975. Throughout the 1970s and 1980s, Huerta continued her activism as a lobbyist, fighting to improve workers’ legislative representation, and throughout the 1990s and 2000s, she promoted women in the political sphere and worked to increase the attendance of more Latinxs and women in office.
Monday, 11am-5pm
Shaped by her experiences as the daughter of a migrant farmworker and miner, and a single mother, Dolores Clara Fernández Huerta utilized her strength in organization and activism to advocate for the economic and social wellbeing of farmworkers. Born on April 10th, 1930, in Dawson, New Mexico, later relocating to Stockton, California, Huerta would observe the discrimination experienced by Mexican Americans in the workforce and in everyday life. As a young adult, Huerta earned her AA in teaching at the University of the Pacific’s Delta College, and although Huerta taught for a short time, it became apparent that in order to fully help the students, she would have to do more for the parents that were experiencing terrible working conditions and low pay and in 1955, began her career as a labor rights activist.
The Pursuit of Social Justice Present, &
Future
A Symposium Featuring Dolores Huerta
Because of her activism, Dolores Huerta has been the recipient of various awards, such as the Eleanor Roosevelt Human Rights Award in 1998 and the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 2012.
- Past,
September 19th, 2022,
A Symposium Featuring Dolores Huerta 11:00am-11:15am CST 11:15am-12:30pm CST 12:30pm-1:30pm CST 1:30pm-1:40pm CST Welcome Dahlia Guerra, Assoc. VP of Public Art Panel I LUPE: Past, Present, and Future Juanita Valdez Cox, Tania Chávez, María Gómez, & Marta Sánchez Moderated by Maritza De La Trinidad Lunch Ay Mariposa documentary, clip featuring Zulema Hernández Directed by Krista Shyler Panel II Cosecha Voices Migrant Farmworker Activism Through Storytelling Angelica González, Juventina Herrera, Anna Muñoz, Norma Pérez, Ayme Peña & Erika Salamanca Moderated by José Martínez & Stephanie Alvarez 1:45pm-2:45pm CST
A Symposium Featuring Dolores Huerta 4:05pm-4:15pm CST RGV Activism Today 2:50pm-3:00pm CST 3:00pm-4:00pm CST 4:15pm-5:15pm CST 5:30pm CST Poets Against Walls Video featuring LUPE & other poets Introduction Juanita Valdez Cox Dolores Huerta Reception at BMFA Smithsonian Exhibit Dolores Huerta: Revolution in the Fields / Revolución en los Campos Denisce Palacios, Josue Ramirez & Gabriel Sánchez Moderated by Rosalva Resendiz Panel III Food & Beverages Featuring PSJA ECHS Conjunto "Los PoderOsos" by Pepe García Gilling, Juan Torres, & Emmy Pérez
Angie González
was born in Pharr, TX in 1948 to undocumented immigrant parents and raised mostly in Reynosa, Tamaulipas until the age of 15 when she moved back to the Valley. She began working as a farmworker in the onion fields in 1963 with her three siblings where she experienced firsthand the unjust conditions farmworkers faced such as working long hours for low wages, poor sanitation and health conditions and other labor abuses. She learned about the UFW in 1969 but did not join until 1977 when workers in the onion fields went on strike. She became involved in the Texas Farm workers Union and Texas UFW and under the leadership of Rebecca Flores, Maria began organizing fellow workers to document labor abuses and file complaints with the Department of Labor and colonia residents around public services and infrastructure for colonias. At 73, María continues her activism to improve conditions for her community through her work for LUPE.
Is a proud first-generation Mexican-American college graduate that grew up as a migrant farmworker. Her greatest accomplishment in life, thus far , are her three precious children. Education has been an important part of her life. González holds an AA in Business Administration, AA in Spanish, BA in Mexican American Studies, MAIS in Mexican American Studies, and is currently in the last stretch of a Doctorate in Educational Leadership. Currently, she serves as the Associate Director of Graduate Studies at UTRGV were she focus es on providing a quality higher education experience to students.
born in Veracruz, Mexico, Tania A. Chavez moved Tamaulipas at the age of 8 years old where her parents started a business that has been the source of income for her family. She moved to McAllen, TX at age 14 as an undocumented immigrant, graduate high school and from the University of Texas-Pan American with a bachelor’s in finance, master’s in business administration and a Master of Arts in Communication Studies. Tania honed her organizing skills through her student activism at UTPA and translated her experiences and commitment to helping others to community organizing as a strategist for LUPE. She joined LUPE in 2012 and has been an instrumental leader in promoting DACA, immigration reform, rural health care access and expanding funding sources to sustain LUPE’s programs and community advocacy.
María Gómez (Doña Mari)
Symposium Participants
Tania Chávez
Denisce Palacios
was born in the state of Tamaulipas Mexico Sep. 17, 1958 and immigrated to the US at the age of eleven and became a migrant farm worker at the same time. She currently resides in Edinburg, Texas. She volunteers in many community sectors. She returned to school 20 years after receiving her high school diploma and earned a Bachelor's degree in Spanish and then acquired a Master’s degree in Spanish with a Certificate in Mexican American Studies. Currently, Herrera is teaching at a local high school and college.
Juventina Herrera (Hernández)
Ayme Peña
is a community organizer from the Rio Grande Valley, currently working with Texas Rising. She is a former UTRGV student body president, who during her time helped co found the Civic Engagement Alliance & the UTRGV Center for Diversity and Inclusion. She was 1 of 12 people selected for Teen Vogue’s Teen Vote Committee for her organizing & electoral experience. Most recently she organized to Free Melissa Lucio and continues to fight to bring justice & transparency for incarcerated people in the RGV. She's passionate about immigration, healthcare, environmental justice, and the Valley
was born in Tamaulipas, Mexico. Her parents permanently relocated to the Rio Grande Valley when she was four years old. She received her Bachelor’s Degree in International Business from UTRGV, followed by a Masters in Interdisciplinary Studies. Ayme is a proud mother of two boys. Her goal is to pursue a PhD. She is passionate about education and is eager to immerse herself once again with the RGV community. Ayme was part of the first running of Cosecha Voices, “Me cambio la vida, y moldeo mi futuro” she shares that is was a turning point in her life and career path. Ayme has served the United States in locations around the world (Germany, Afghanistan, Iraq, Colombia, Peru, United Kingdom, Panama) always wearing her heritage colors with pride and representing the Valley community. was born in California, and childhood for her was to travel between her birth state and the state of Texas, which she now calls home. Anna received her Bachelor’s Degree in Mexican American Studies from UTRGV and Masters in Education from The University of Michigan. She soon after relocated to Utah to pursue the PhD, but put a pause on her career to return back to Texas and gain first hand experience in her field of interest. Anna is a mother of a brilliant two year old daughter and wife to an amazing husband. Anna has been a Spanish teacher for five years, is passionate about higher education and for the future of the RGV. She continues to pursue her career goal of creating a positive impact on students by becoming a principal in the next few years.
Anna Muñoz - Garza
Erika Salamanca is the Co founder of Trucha, a multimedia organization focused on creating a more holistic narrative of the region through movement journalism, documentary videography and arts and cultural programming. He previously served as the MiCasita Program Coordinator with come dream. come build and as the Lower Rio Grande Regional Director for Texas Housers. Ramirez has nine years of policy advocacy experience in the areas of fair housing, community development, environmental justice and land use. Additionally, he is a queer multidisciplinary artist whose praxis is at the intersection of activism and social justice grew up as a migrant farmworker traveling with her family between the Rio Grande Valley and California. She graduated with a Bachelor's Degree in Engineering from University of Teas Pan American. She was an active member of the Cosecha Voices Student Organization for many years and presented at over a dozen conferences. Recently she published an essay on Cosecha Voices with her sister Anabel Salamanca, Roberto Reyna, José Martínez in the Harvard Educational Review.
was born in Rio Bravo, Tamaulipas Mexico and at six years old her family crossed the Rio Bravo river to the United States in hopes for a better future. During the ages of seven and twenty years old she moved with her family back and forth to various states such as Florida, Arkansas, and Wisconsin and back to Texas where they had to work in the fields. During her high school and college years she would sell at flea markets during the weekends to sell clothes, appliances, and plants. Norma holds a Bachelors in Mexican American Studies and a minor in Spanish and Graphic Design and a Masters of Arts in Interdisciplinary Studies with a concentration in Mexican American Studies, with a certificate in Latin American Art History. Norma now resides in Weslaco, Texas and is currently a health care provider who owns her own plant nursery and is a muralist.
Gabriel Sanchez is a native of the Rio Grande Valley who grew up in Starr and Hidalgo Counties. He has a bachelor’s degree in American Studies and Sociology from Marlboro College in Vermont. Gabriel has been conducting research and collecting oral history interviews on the history of the Rio Grande Valley’s LGBTQIA+ communities and the activism, social spaces, stories, and art important to this community for several years. Gabriel collaborated with One Scene Studios to create Pansy Pachanga a documentary film on the history of the Valley’s LGBTQIA. Gabriel is also the Media Specialist for South Texas Equality Project (STEP).
Norma Pérez Argüello
Josue Ramirez
Juanita Valdez-Cox
Martha Sánchez
Jgrew up in a colonia south of Donna, TX in a migrant farmworker family and began working in the fields at an early age. Her family traveled across the country to harvest various crops from sugar beets to oranges. As a young woman she began working with children of migrant farmworker families and later worked as a community organizer for ACORN in Austin. She studied early childhood development, Mexican American Studies, and Sociology at UTPA She became involved in the UFW after her parents became members in 1979 and has been a labor organizer for the UFW since the 1980s. She served on the UFW Executive Board and represented the state of Texas for the UFW. Her advocacy for a LUPE office in Texas led to the opening of an office in San Juan in 2003 to address water issues, drainage, streetlights, paved streets, and social services for colonias in the RGV and was appointed as the Executive Director in 2007. Under her leadership, LUPE has expanded its unique organizing model into other areas of South Texas and grown significantly with offices in Alton, Pharr, Mercedes, San Benito, and Rio Grande City, a staff of 52 full time employees, and approximately 8,000 members. As a longtime activist, Juanita has helped transform communities in the RGV and improved the lives of LUPE members and colonia residents. She continues to serve as a Board Member of the César Chávez Foundation, the Advisory Committee of the NFWSC’s Sí Se Puede Education Program, the Annie E. Casey Foundation Fellowship for Children and Families and helped establish Proyecto Azteca She is well known not only in South Texas but is recognized nationally for her efforts in helping farm workers find their voice and promoting social change was born in San Luis Potosi, Mexico and migrated to the US at the age of 15 to seek a better future for herself. She was fortunate to obtain legal status which gave her the freedom to help others. She believes that it is our responsibility to give opportunities to those who don’t have the same as others and to educate, help and provide opportunities for the empowering of colonia residents She has worked with LUPE for 12 years which and currently lead a team of community organizers and communities to identify and develop leaders to mobilize other community members around local issues and help them realize the power of unity and build opportunities to work together to affect change.
Stephanie Alvarez
Dahlia Guerra
is an Associate Professor and Coordinator Mexican American Studies at The University of Texas Rio Grande Valley. Her research examines educational policies, practices and programs that have shaped Mexican American schooling in the Southwest and the history of bilingual education, educational segregation, desegregation lawsuits, civil rights, educational activism and Chicana activism and leadership She the project director of Historias Americanas: Engaging History and Citizenship in the Rio Grande Valley, a professional development program for K 12 social studies & History teachers that provided content on the history, culture & geography of the Rio Grande Valley and Mexican American Studies utilizing culturally relevant & place based pedagogies funded by an AHCE grant from the U S Department of Education
is Associate Professor of Mexican American Studies and the Director of the Center for Mexican American Studies at the University of Texas Rio Grande Valley. She has been recognized by the Carnegie Foundation for Teaching as the U.S. Professor of the Year, the American Association of Hispanics in Higher Education with the Outstanding Latino/a Faculty in Higher Ed award, and the University of Texas System Board of Regents with the Outstanding Teaching Award. She is co editor of AmeRícan: Essays on the Work of Tato Laviera. She has authored numerous essays on the intersection of Latinx education, gender, language, identity, and culture. Her work is motivated by and grounded in her lived experiences as a Latina student, educator, and mother of three.
Maritza De La Trinidad
is the UTRGV Assistant Vice President for Public Art and Special Projects at the University of Texas Rio Grande Valley,is a native of Edinburg, and pianist and professor in the School of Music. She is the founder of the university’s Mariachi Aztlán, a nationally award winning student ensemble that has performed for audiences throughout the United States, Mexico, and Canada. She also is the founder of FESTIBA Festival of International Books and Arts at UTRGV which celebrates the arts and humanities while promoting literacy in South Texas. She was named 2014 Cultural Leader of the Year by the Valley Symphony Orchestra, Woman of Distinction by the RGV Hispanic Chamber of Commerce in 2014, and named Literacy Champion by Congressman Ruben Hinojosa and the South Texas Literacy Coalition. In 2021, Dahlia Guerra was awarded the Ohtli Award, the highest honor bestowed by the Government of Mexico to individuals or organizations that have worked to empower the Mexican diaspora and helped to “open the path” for new Mexican American and Hispanic generations.
is facukty in the UTRGV University College He comes from a long line of migrant farmworkers and grew up migrating between the Rio Grande Valley and various states throughout the Midwest. He worked in agriculture from the time he was seven years old until the very day he left for the university. As an experienced educator of more than 20 years, his research interests include studying the higher education experiences of Latinx students with a focus on college students from migrant farmworker backgrounds. Dr. Martínez has directed and coordinated multiple university programs at various institutions of higher education aimed at expanding higher education opportunities to diverse students. He has also worked extensively in family and community engagement in low income communities of South Texas. Dr. Martinez holds a Ph.D. in Chicano/Latino Studies from Michigan State University and is currently a lecturer at The University of Texas Rio Grande Valley.
Rosalva Resendiz
is Chair and Professor of Creative Writing at UTRGV. Pérez is the 2020 Texas Poet Laureate and has lived in the Texas borderlands for over 20 years. Originally from Santa Ana, California, she is the author of With the River on Our Face and Solstice. She is the recipient of a National Endowment for the Arts Poetry Fellowship, UTRGV Oustanding Mentoring Award, and the University of Texas Board of Regents Outstanding Teaching Award. She is also a co founders of Poets Against Walls, a collective that aims to tell, document, and share communal stories from individual perspectives through poetry, testimonio, and the spoken word about life here en la frontera & beyond, stories and/or points of view the media often misses.
is an Associate Professor in the Department of Criminal Justice. Her work engages Critical Chicana Feminism with a focus on “intersectionality” and identity politics, considering colonialism, decolonialism, and postcolonialism. Her activism and research intersect Border Studies/Chicana Feminism/Social Justice/Critical Criminology. She is researching and has published on Corridos and Soldaderas as well as indigenous resistance and injustice on the border.
José L. Martínez
Emmy Pérez
With Special Thanks To L.U.P.E. Smithsonian Institute Dulce Mata Taylor Seaver De La Fuente Tesoro’s Fine Cuisine Sodexo Texas Southmost College The Smithsonian Institution Brownsville Museum of Fine Art PSJA ISD UTRGV Office of Translation & Interpretation (TiO) María Carmona Poets Against Walls Ay Mariposa Film Dir. Krista Shylar www.aymariposafilm.com Acknowledgements UTRGV CMAS, College of Fine Arts & The School of Social Work wish to thank the following individuals and organizations for their support Planning Committee Dahlia Guerra Stephanie Alvarez Emmy Pérez Maritza De La Trinidad Samantha López
EVENT SPONSORS Event Sponsors For More Information on Dolores Huerta and the Dolores Huerta Foundation for Community Organizing visit www.doloreshuerta.org
