The Dodgers are mourning the loss of civil rights and labor icon Dolores Huerta, who passed away Wednesday at the age of 96.
The organization shared a tribute to Huerta after her family confirmed her death through the Dolores Huerta Foundation.
Huerta’s family said she died at home and asked for privacy while they grieve. Plans to recognize and celebrate her life will be announced at a later date. A cause of death was not immediately disclosed.
Her connection to the Dodgers extended beyond being one of California’s most influential public figures.
Huerta was honored multiple times at Dodger Stadium for a lifetime devoted to workers’ rights, civil rights and creating opportunities for communities whose voices had often been ignored.
Dodgers Previously Honored Huerta At Dodger Stadium
Major League Baseball presented Huerta with a Beacon Award at Dodger Stadium during its 2015 Civil Rights Game, which was held on Jackie Robinson Day.
Huerta participated in a roundtable discussion about baseball and the civil rights movement before being recognized during a pregame ceremony.
She was honored alongside Lakers legend and Dodgers ownership partner Magic Johnson. Frank Robinson, who became Major League Baseball’s first Black skipper in 1975, was also recognized during the event.
The ceremony connected baseball’s history of breaking barriers with Huerta’s work outside the sport.
Later that year, the Dodgers welcomed Huerta back as part of their Hispanic Heritage Month celebration.
Huerta received the organization’s Community Hero Award during Viva Los Dodgers and threw a ceremonial first pitch. The Dodgers also recognized 10 scholars from the Dolores Huerta Foundation during the pregame ceremony.
Those appearances reflected why her death resonated with an organization and fan base closely connected to Southern California’s Latino community.
Huerta Helped Transform The American Labor Movement
Born Dolores Fernández on April 10, 1930, in Dawson, New Mexico, Huerta grew up in Stockton, California.
She initially worked as a teacher but became increasingly troubled by the poverty and hunger experienced by the children of farmworkers.
Huerta eventually left the classroom and dedicated herself to organizing.
In 1962, she co-founded the National Farm Workers Association, which later became the United Farm Workers. Her organizing and negotiating helped farmworkers pursue better wages, safer working conditions and greater legal protections.
Huerta played a central role in the Delano grape strike and the nationwide consumer boycott that followed. The movement forced Americans far removed from California’s agricultural fields to confront the conditions endured by the people harvesting their food.
She was not simply a supporting figure in the movement. Huerta was an organizer, negotiator and strategist whose work helped reshape labor history in California and across the country.
“Sí, Se Puede” Became A Lasting Call To Action
Huerta is also credited with creating the phrase “Sí, se puede,” which translates to “Yes, it can be done.”
What began as a message of determination within the farmworker movement became one of the most recognizable calls to action in American political and civil-rights history.
The phrase reflected Huerta’s belief that ordinary people could create meaningful change when they organized and acted together.
Her advocacy eventually expanded beyond farm labor.
Huerta fought for women’s rights, immigrant communities, LGBTQ+ equality, civic participation and economic justice. She continued attending demonstrations, speaking publicly and organizing well into her 90s.
President Barack Obama awarded her the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 2012, the nation’s highest civilian honor.
Los Angeles County later proclaimed April 10 as Dolores Huerta Day, recognizing her birthday and lifelong commitment to workers and marginalized communities.
Her Work Continues Through The Dolores Huerta Foundation
Huerta established the Dolores Huerta Foundation in 2003 to continue organizing communities around civic engagement, education, health, workplace protections and social justice.
The Bakersfield-based organization trains residents to advocate for themselves and create community-driven change.
Huerta is survived by her 13 children and by the generations of activists, organizers and community leaders influenced by her example.
Her life also carried a particular significance for Latinas. She challenged expectations about who could lead a national movement at a time when women—especially women of color—were frequently excluded from positions of power.
Huerta refused to accept that exclusion.
She continued speaking, organizing and confronting injustice long after she had already secured her place in American history.
A Legacy That Reached Dodger Stadium
The Dodgers’ tribute is meaningful because Huerta was part of the community the organization represents.
Dodger Stadium has long served as more than a baseball venue. It is a gathering place for one of the largest and most influential Latino fan bases in American sports.
By honoring Huerta during the Civil Rights Game and Viva Los Dodgers, the organization recognized that her fight for dignity and opportunity belonged within the broader story of Los Angeles.
Her work took place in classrooms, fields, union halls, legislative offices and on picket lines.
It also reached the pitcher’s mound at Dodger Stadium.
Dolores Huerta leaves behind more than a famous phrase. She leaves a challenge to keep organizing, keep speaking and continue believing that meaningful change is possible. Sí, se puede.