Dolores Huerta formed the first farmworkers union with Cesar Chavez, stood next to Sen. Robert Kennedy minutes before he was assassinated, inspired Barack Obama’s 2008 “Yes We Can” presidential campaign slogan with her “Sí, Se Puede” rallying cry and has continued her social activism as she approaches her 90th birthday.
Among Mexican-Americans, however, she’s a civil-rights icon. She draws excitement at rallies for ethnic studies in Arizona, gatherings for women’s rights in Albuquerque, N.M., and even for a cameo appearance at this year’s Academy Awards.
Now the social activist is the subject of “Dolores,” a new PBS documentary from Independent Lens.