Dolores Huerta has fought for civil rights in California for decades, co-founding the United Farm Workers union with Cesar Chavez in 1962. On Saturday, officials held a ceremony to name a Boyle Heights intersection after her.
Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti, along with Councilman Jose Huizar and county Supervisor Hilda Solis, helped unveiled the “Dolores Huerta Square” on First and Chicago streets on Saturday afternoon.
Huizar led the effort to honor the now 89-year-old civil rights activist with the naming of the intersection, which was once home to the L.A. chapter of the Stockton Community Service Organization.
Before co-founding the United Farm Workers union, Huerta served as an organizer for the group, which worked to help low-income families. She met Cesar Chavez in 1955 through the founder of Stockton Community Service Organization, according to Huizar’s office.
The building in Boyle Heights now houses the Boyle Heights City Hall.
“Dolores Huerta’s name should be on the lips of every child in America, so they can appreciate what true courage in the face of insurmountable odds looks like,” the councilman said, calling the activist a “dragon slayer.”
Huerta addressed the crowd at Saturday’s ceremony, criticizing the Trump administration’s immigration policies.
She said everybody knows somebody who lives in the U.S. illegally.
“You know what? Let’s invite them over to our house…” Huertas said. “When ICE people come to the doors, ain’t nobody gonna be home.”