TRAILBLAZER FOR IMMIGRANT CIVIL RIGHTS
DISCUSSES ‘TAKING A STAND’ AT UH LECTURE
A pioneer in the civil rights movement for immigrants brings her
living history story to the University of Houston. Dolores Huerta,
co-founder of the United Farmworkers of America, will discuss “Taking
a Stand in History,” at
7:30 p.m., Thursday, Feb. 9 at the UH Cullen Performance Hall.
The event is free and open to the public.
Huerta began her civil rights work in the 1950s when she was a
grammar school teacher in California. Her students were children
of farm workers and often needed clothing, shoes and food. She said
she decided it would be more beneficial to organize the farm workers
for better working conditions and wages.
In the 1960s, she lobbied for the removal of citizenship requirements
for pensions in California and to have voting ballots printed in
Spanish. In addition, her efforts were pivotal in securing Aid for
Dependent Families and disability insurance for farm workers in
California.
She is perhaps best known for her work with Cesar Chavez that led
to the creation of the United Farmworkers of America. Their efforts
to champion farmworkers’ rights culminated in the famous “Delano
Grape Strike” in 1965 when more than 5,000 grape workers throughout
the San Joaquin Valley protested area grape growers and demanded
higher wages.
The lecture is sponsored by the UH History Department.
WHAT: |
Lecture featuring Co-Founder of the United Farmworkers
of America Dolores Huerta “Taking a Stand in History” |
WHEN: |
7:30 p.m., Thursday, Feb. 9
Mariachi band begins at 6:30 p.m. |
WHERE: |
UH Cullen Performance Hall
Please visit www.uh.edu/campus_map/buildings/A.html
for directions and parking information |
For more information about UH visit the universitys Newsroom at www.uh.edu/admin/media/newsroom.
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