Dolores Huerta: A Life in American History

by April Tellez, Peg A. Lamphier (Editor), Rosanne Welch (Editor)

Overview

A comprehensive exploration of Dolores Huerta's contributions to U.S. labor history and her life's work of advocating for systematically disadvantaged and marginalized groups.

An iconic figure in American civil rights and one of the most influential labor rights activists of the 20th century, Huerta overcame great odds to make enduring contributions to social justice and advocacy, particularly for farm workers and the Latino community. Organized chronologically, this volume offers the opportunity for readers to better understand Huerta's life. From her early beginnings in California's central valley, to her influential leadership on the United Farm Workers (UFW) union, to her work educating on women's issues and advocating for Latino representation in politics, readers will explore the many efforts that made Huerta's influence enduring. Beyond a biography, this book places Huerta center stage in the context of American history, looking closely at the Chicano civil rights movement in California; social restrictions, disenfranchisement, and various forms of segregation in 1950's and 1960's America; historical labor strikes and boycotts; key legislation and political figures active in labor rights, and more. Huerta is one of the great contributors to American history, labor history, women's history, and the history of activism, social justice, and human rights. Here, her story is told in a way that captures the full span of her life and achievements.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781440872969
Publisher:	Bloomsbury Academic
Publication date:	02/06/2025
Series:	Women Making History
Pages:	216
Product dimensions:	6.35(w) x 9.50(h) x 0.85(d)

About the Author

April Tellez is a history professor at Mt. San Antonio College in Walnut, California, USA. She earned a Bachelors in History and Political Science with a focus in Ethnic Studies, a Masters degree in History, and is ABD for a Ph.D. at UC Riverside. She specializes in Chicanx, Native American, Women's histories and in cultural resistance to settler colonization. Her research investigates the forced sterilization of Native American women in the United States.

Peg. A. Lamphier, PhD, teaches interdisciplinary humanities at California State Polytechnic University and Women's History at Mount San Antonio College. Lamphier wrote Kate Chase and William Sprague: Politics and Gender in a Civil War Marriage (2003) and Spur Up Your Pegasus: Family Letters of Salmon, Kate, and Nettie Chase, 1844–1873 (2009), and coedited Women in American History: A Social, Political, and Cultural Encyclopedia and Document Collection (ABC-CLIO 2017) and Technological Innovation in American History: An Encyclopedia (ABC-CLIO 2019). She also co-authored The Civil War on Film and American Women's History on Film (Bloomsbury 2020, 2022).

Rosanne Welch is Executive Director of the Stephens College MFA in TV and Screenwriting, USA. She has TV writing credits on Beverly Hills 90210, Picket Fences, Nightline and Touched by an Angel. Her award-winning publications include When Women Wrote Hollywood (2018) and Women in American History (2017). She has additionally written American Women's History on Film (2023) and The Civil War on Film (2021).

Table of Contents

Preface
Introduction
Timeline: Events in the Life of Dolores Huerta
1. Firm Soil, Firm Roots
2. A Spiritual Awakening
3. Dolores' Pilgrimage in the UFW
4. Spreading Her Wings
5. Breathing Fire for Farmworker Justice
6. Round Two: The Fight Continues
7. Peace Destroys Violence
8. And Still She Rises
9. The Era of Accolades: Humble Through it All
10. The Fight is Not Over: Continued Commitment to Social Justice
Selected Bibliography
About the Author