The Untold Story of a Feminist Legend: DOLORES Sheds New Light on an Activist Icon

A new documentary finally tells the story of Dolores Huerta’s life-long fight for justice and equality.

Dolores Huerta has been a force for social change for decades, and her work laid the foundation for the modern labor rights and racial justice movements. She began her life in social justice movements by devoting her early work to fight for better economic conditions for farm workers, and ultimately co-founded the United Farm Workers (UFW) with Cesar Chavez. Despite her accomplishments as a leader in the labor rights movement and immigrant rights community—including negotiating the first contract between farm workers, leading the national Delano grape strike boycott that led to a historic three-year bargaining agreement with the UFW in 1970 and coining the rallying cry “¡Sí, Se Puede!” (which would later be known as President Obama’s campaign slogan “Yes We Can!”)—her legacy has largely been overlooked in the historical record.

At 87, she is still one of the most defiant feminists of the 20th century, but Huerta’s journey to the feminist movement and tireless advocacy for women’s equality has also been too often overlooked. DOLORES reclaims Huerta’s narrative, telling a more complete account of her life’s work. Director Peter Bratt’s award-winning film displays Huerta’s continuous fight for justice in an intimate way, revealing personal sacrifices she made to fully devote her life to social change.

“After interviewing farm workers, scholars, politicians, feminists, labor historians and 10 of her 11 biological children, one thing became crystal clear: her erasure from the historical record was deliberate,” Pratt wrote in a statement. “In this consolidated, never-before-seen collection of personal memories, historical documentation and compelling first-person narrative, Dolores Huerta emerges as more than just a footnote to 20th century America—she proves to be a true American hero.”

Huerta empowered a generation of farm workers, immigrants, feminists and people of color to stand up for their rights. Pratt delivers a provocative and engaging documentary that challenges the previous one-sided history with powerful storytelling.

DOLORES will be released in September in New York and Los Angeles. Find a screening near you.

About

Meliss Arteaga studied at California State University Northridge and has a bachelor’s degree in journalism and minor in gender and women studies.