Dolores Huerta returned to her hometown Thursday, calling on Delta College students to carry forward the fight for justice through civic engagement, nonviolence and unity.
The 95-year-old civil rights leader, who co-founded the United Farm Workers alongside César Chávez, addressed a near-capacity crowd in Atherton Auditorium. The event, “Voices of Change: Dolores Huerta Speaks to the Next Generation,” was part of Delta’s annual observance of Hispanic Heritage Month. It was organized by the Puente Project, which supports Latino students through mentorship and transfer preparation, and the Cultural Awareness Program, which brings speakers and cultural programming to campus.
Huerta’s message centered on one theme: change is still possible, but only if young people step forward.
“The people we elect are the ones who make the laws that govern us,” Huerta said. “We have to use our voices and our votes.”
Support for Prop. 50
Huerta linked her call to action to Proposition 50, the redistricting measure on California’s 2025 ballot. She told students the initiative could help “guarantee” more representative congressional districts and shift political power toward those willing to invest in health care, education and immigrant rights.
“Right now we have a chance to do that,” Huerta said, urging the audience to begin preparing for the 2026 elections by organizing around Prop. 50.
Stockton roots and people power
The event, moderated by Delta history professor Dr. Sarah Seekatz and Board of Trustees President Janet Rivera, brought Huerta back to the city where she first studied in the 1940s. She recalled being one of only a handful of Latino students at Stockton College — the predecessor to Delta — and how classmates often anglicized their names to avoid discrimination. Those experiences, she said, underscored the need for schools to teach ethnic studies so students can “fend off the racism that they suffer.”
Her first organizing efforts, registering voters with the Community Service Organization, a Mexican-American self-help group that Huerta co-founded in the 1950s to combat discrimination, economic hardship and voter suppression within Latino communities. It showed her how everyday people could change policy.
“That was the first action we took,” she said. “And that is really important, because a lot of young people don’t think voting is important.”
Feminism, equity and inclusion
Huerta also spoke on women’s rights, saying she believes “we will never have peace in the world until women take power.” She shared lessons from her mother — a businesswoman who taught her to be financially independent — and later encounters that shaped her views on reproductive rights.
“If a woman decides to have an abortion, that is her business,” Huerta said, adding that she struggled with the issue until guided by theologians who emphasized personal choice.
She linked that stance to broader fights over diversity, equity and inclusion policies, warning students that efforts to roll them back are attempts to silence marginalized groups.
Huerta also reaffirmed her support for the LGBTQ+ community.
“We’ve got to end discrimination against everybody,” she said. “All people need to be respected.”
Nonviolence as strategy
Huerta, long known for her discipline in nonviolence, told students that opponents “want us to use violence” so they can justify repression. Instead, she urged continued marches, vigils and boycotts.
“Voting again is the best method right now,” she said.
Voices from the community
The message resonated with educators who brought students to the event.
Gustavo Gonzalez, an ethnic studies teacher at Edison High School, said he wanted his students to see how someone from Stockton could help transform the Central Valley.
“We talk about Dolores Huerta and how she helped organize to make conditions better for farmworkers,” González said. “I hope students can see how change is possible if you can connect and work with others who believe in a good cause.”
At Delta, Dr. Beto Gutiérrez, professor of Chicano studies, called Huerta’s appearance “extremely symbolic.”
“It’s the passing of the torch,” he said. “The question is: she’s passing the torch, now it’s up to the students to want to receive it.”
Huerta closed with both urgency and hope, reminding students that rights won through decades of struggle cannot be taken for granted.
“They can cut all the flowers, but they can’t hold back the spring,” she said.
Whether in classrooms, on picket lines, or in the voting booth, she told Delta students that democracy depends on their participation.
“This is our moment right now,” Huerta said. “We have to convince ourselves that we can do it.”
