TEDWomen 2018
Dolores Huerta: How to overcome apathy and find your power
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"Sí, se puede!" -- "Yes, we can!" It's the rallying cry Dolores Huerta came up with as a young activist in the 1970s, and she's lived by it in her tireless pursuit of civil rights ever since. With her signature wit and humor, Huerta reflects on her life's work, offering inspiration for anybody trying to overcome apathy, get involved and find their own power.
Dolores Huerta - Civil rights activist, community organizer
Dolores Huerta is inspired by a passion to spend most of her time pursuing social justice and civil rights. Full bio
Dolores Huerta is inspired by a passion to spend most of her time pursuing social justice and civil rights. Full bio
Double-click the English transcript below to play the video.
00:13
I want to start out
with quoting Helen Keller,
with quoting Helen Keller,
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that great woman that we all admire.
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And she had a statement
that is very profound,
that is very profound,
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and this statement is
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that science has been able to find
cures for many evils,
cures for many evils,
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but never the greatest evil
of all in human beings,
of all in human beings,
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and that evil is apathy.
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So, we know that apathy
really costs us a lot,
really costs us a lot,
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especially in our democracy.
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And when we think of why
people do not get involved,
people do not get involved,
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why they do not become activists,
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it's often that people are so worn down
with their own familial responsibilities,
with their own familial responsibilities,
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and women especially.
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You know, women,
they have so many inhibitions.
they have so many inhibitions.
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Many of them have suffered
so much trauma in their lives,
so much trauma in their lives,
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so many aggressions in their lives.
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And so it's very hard for them to realize
that they have leadership capacities.
that they have leadership capacities.
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That they can get out there,
and they could change the world.
and they could change the world.
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Another thing that many women --
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we think that we have to do everything.
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That we are the only ones
responsible for our families,
responsible for our families,
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and it is so hard for us to delegate
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and just get others to help us
do the duties that we are responsible for.
do the duties that we are responsible for.
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We feel embarrassed or we feel guilty.
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But we know that we have
to make this happen,
to make this happen,
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because if not, we will never have time
to be able to volunteer
to be able to volunteer
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to help on these many causes
that are now facing us.
that are now facing us.
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One of the areas that women
can give up a little bit of time
can give up a little bit of time
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and that is in shopping, OK?
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(Laughter)
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And especially when we go out there
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shopping for things
that we don't even need.
that we don't even need.
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(Laughter)
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You know, you never saw
a hearse with a U-Haul behind it.
a hearse with a U-Haul behind it.
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02:09
(Laughter)
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We have to live simply,
so that others can simply live.
so that others can simply live.
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And when we think
of the kind of inheritance
of the kind of inheritance
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that we want to leave to our children
or our grandchildren,
or our grandchildren,
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think of leaving them a legacy of justice.
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This is a legacy
that they can not only imitate,
that they can not only imitate,
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but they can be proud of
for the rest of their lives.
for the rest of their lives.
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If we leave them a lot of material goods,
all they're going to do is fight,
all they're going to do is fight,
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and they're going to hate each other.
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Just remember that,
when we think about what we're doing.
when we think about what we're doing.
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The other thing that we have to do
to liberate our women, eventually,
to liberate our women, eventually,
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so that we can do the kind
of volunteer work that we need to do
of volunteer work that we need to do
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to change this world,
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is we have to have a different kind
of an education for our young women.
of an education for our young women.
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Unfortunately, in our societies
around the world,
around the world,
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women are taught to be victims.
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Women are not taught that they
are going to have to defend themselves,
are going to have to defend themselves,
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that they're going to have
to support themselves
to support themselves
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and they have to protect themselves.
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Because, you know, when we
actually look at the animal kingdom,
actually look at the animal kingdom,
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and we see who are the most ferocious,
the male or the female?
the male or the female?
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We know it's the female, right?
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So something went wrong with us at the top
of that animal kingdom as women.
of that animal kingdom as women.
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(Laughter)
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So I want to give you an example
of how I found my voice.
of how I found my voice.
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And I was very fortunate in that,
when I was 25 years old,
when I was 25 years old,
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I met a gentleman named Fred Ross Sr.,
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who organized a chapter of a group called
the Community Service Organization
the Community Service Organization
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in my hometown of Stockton, California.
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This was a grassroots organization,
and I was recruited to be a volunteer.
and I was recruited to be a volunteer.
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So, one day, while we were
sitting in the office,
sitting in the office,
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a farm worker comes in.
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And he's paralyzed,
he can hardly walk, he has a crutch.
he can hardly walk, he has a crutch.
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And he needs help.
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He needs someone to help him
go down to the welfare office
go down to the welfare office
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and make an application.
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So, I volunteered to do that.
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But when I got to the welfare office,
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they would not let me make
an application for this gentleman.
an application for this gentleman.
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So I didn't know what to do,
I was at a loss.
I was at a loss.
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04:13
So I went back to the office,
and I told Mr. Ross,
and I told Mr. Ross,
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"They won't let me make an application."
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And he said to me, very sternly,
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"You go right back down
to that welfare office,
to that welfare office,
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and you demand to see a supervisor.
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And you demand that they
let him make an application."
let him make an application."
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And I thought, "Wow, I can do that?"
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(Laughter)
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So I thought about it,
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and I kind of overcame
my anxieties and my fears.
my anxieties and my fears.
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I went down to the welfare office
and I demanded to see the supervisor.
and I demanded to see the supervisor.
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Sure enough, he came out,
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and they had to let Mr. Ruiz
make an application for welfare.
make an application for welfare.
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And he got his disability
for himself and his family.
for himself and his family.
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But that taught me a lesson.
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That taught me that I had a voice.
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Well, Mr. Ross also taught many of us
many other things, including Cesar Chavez
many other things, including Cesar Chavez
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and many other volunteers.
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05:02
And he taught us not only
that we can make demands of people,
that we can make demands of people,
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especially our public officials.
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05:08
And this is something
we should always keep in mind:
we should always keep in mind:
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every public official --
guess what -- they work for us.
guess what -- they work for us.
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Because we pay their salaries
with out taxes.
with out taxes.
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And they are actually our servants.
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Some of them turn out to be leaders,
but not all of them.
but not all of them.
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(Laughter)
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Once in a while we get
a leader out of there.
a leader out of there.
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05:28
The other thing that Mr. Ross taught us
is that voting is extremely important.
is that voting is extremely important.
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And not just voting,
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but going out there
and getting other people to vote.
and getting other people to vote.
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Going door to door.
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Phone banking, talking to voters,
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because many voters have a lot of doubts
and they don't know how to vote.
and they don't know how to vote.
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And unfortunately,
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we know that in many countries
people are not allowed to vote
people are not allowed to vote
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because we have voter suppression
in other countries,
in other countries,
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like we do here
in the United States of America.
in the United States of America.
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But the thing is, if we can
get out there as individuals
get out there as individuals
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and talk to people,
so we can remove their apathy
so we can remove their apathy
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and make sure that they can vote.
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So, I want to give you an example
of a woman in our foundation,
of a woman in our foundation,
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the Dolores Huerta Foundation,
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and just to show you
that sometimes people have power,
that sometimes people have power,
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but they don't know it.
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But once they find it,
they do miraculous things.
they do miraculous things.
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So, Leticia Prado
is an immigrant from Mexico,
is an immigrant from Mexico,
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only has a sixth-grade education
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and speaks very limited English.
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But she was very concerned
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because the children at the middle school
in their town called Weedpatch --
in their town called Weedpatch --
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this is in California, Central Valley --
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they couldn't go out
and play in the schoolyard,
and play in the schoolyard,
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because the air quality is so bad
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in the southern part
of Kern County, California
of Kern County, California
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in our United States of America.
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So she and her husband went out there,
and they passed a bond issue
and they passed a bond issue
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to build a brand new,
state-of-the-art gymnasium
state-of-the-art gymnasium
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for the kids at their middle school.
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That was a big success.
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Then she heard a rumor
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that the principal was going to end
the breakfast program
the breakfast program
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for the farm worker children,
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because the principal thought
it was just too much paperwork.
it was just too much paperwork.
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So, Leticia got herself elected
to the school board.
to the school board.
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And they kept the breakfast program,
and she got rid of the principal.
and she got rid of the principal.
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(Laughter)
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(Applause)
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So there were other rumors
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about some corruption
in the local water district.
in the local water district.
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So, Leticia got herself elected
to the water district.
to the water district.
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Then she looked into all of the finances
of the water district
of the water district
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and found there was 250,000 dollars
missing from their bank account.
missing from their bank account.
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So, Leticia called in the grand jury,
and several arrests have been made.
and several arrests have been made.
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And this is just an example
of a woman who never went to high school,
of a woman who never went to high school,
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never went to college,
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but she found her power.
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And in addition, she has recruited
other people in the community
other people in the community
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to also run for public office,
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and guess what -- they've all
gotten themselves elected.
gotten themselves elected.
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So, I take that Leticia really embodies
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something that Coretta Scott King said.
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And I want to share this with you.
Coretta Scott King said,
Coretta Scott King said,
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"We will never have peace in the world
until women take power."
until women take power."
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(Applause)
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Now, I have amended that statement to say
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that we will never have peace in the world
until feminists take power.
until feminists take power.
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(Laughter)
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Because we know
there is a difference, right?
there is a difference, right?
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Not only that, but if we want
to define what is a feminist --
to define what is a feminist --
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a person who stands up
for reproductive rights,
for reproductive rights,
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for immigrants' rights,
for the environment,
for the environment,
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for LGBT rights and also
for labor unions and working people.
for labor unions and working people.
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(Applause)
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Which also means
that men can also be feminists.
that men can also be feminists.
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(Applause)
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So when we think of feminization,
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we should also think
of how can we feminize the policies,
of how can we feminize the policies,
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and not only of our major countries,
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the wealthy countries
like the United States,
like the United States,
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but all over the world,
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our domestic and foreign policy.
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And one of the things that we can do
to stop wars and to have peace
to stop wars and to have peace
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is to make sure that the wealthiest
countries in the world
countries in the world
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also help the developing countries.
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Now, we did this in the past.
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After World War II,
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when Japan and Germany
were devastated after the war,
were devastated after the war,
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United States of America gave
many tax dollars to those two countries,
many tax dollars to those two countries,
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so that they can rebuild their economies
and rebuild their corporations.
and rebuild their corporations.
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And we can do that again.
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And if we can think about how
we can help these other countries.
we can help these other countries.
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And I want to give an example
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of issues that we are facing
in the United States of America,
in the United States of America,
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for instance.
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We know that right now
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we have a lot of refugees
from Central America
from Central America
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that are at the border
of the United States.
of the United States.
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Why do people leave their homes,
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their beautiful homes
that we go to as tourists?
that we go to as tourists?
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Because they don't have
opportunities there.
opportunities there.
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And then we think, "Hm, bananas."
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How many jillions of bananas do we consume
in the United States every single day?
in the United States every single day?
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And throughout the world.
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Now, do the people in Central America
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get the profits from the bananas
that we consume?
that we consume?
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No, they don't.
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The profits go to corporations
from the United States of America.
from the United States of America.
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And we think that this is wrong.
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Now, if the people in Central America
were to be able to get some of that money
were to be able to get some of that money
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that we pay for bananas,
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then they wouldn't have
to leave their homes.
to leave their homes.
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They wouldn't have to come
as asylum seekers
as asylum seekers
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to the borders of the United
States of America.
States of America.
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And then maybe, many children would not
have to be separated from their parents.
have to be separated from their parents.
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Now, we know that there are
countries in the world
countries in the world
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that actually have free education
and have free health care
and have free health care
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for all of the people in their country.
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And that country is Cuba.
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Cuba has health care
for every one of their citizens,
for every one of their citizens,
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and they have a free college education
for every one of their citizens.
for every one of their citizens.
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They're 11 million citizens.
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Now, we think, if a poor country like Cuba
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can have these kind of resources,
and we know that they're a poor country,
and we know that they're a poor country,
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then why can't some
of the other wealthier countries,
of the other wealthier countries,
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like the United States of America,
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do the same?
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I think that we can make that happen.
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(Applause)
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But we know it's not going to happen
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until we, the people
of the United States of America,
of the United States of America,
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and people throughout the world,
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start making sure that they get public
officials elected to their governments
officials elected to their governments
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that really care about the constituents,
they care about people,
they care about people,
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they will commit to make sure
that the resources that they have
that the resources that they have
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are going to be used for their citizens,
and not to be used for war.
and not to be used for war.
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So, how do we make this happen?
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We have to get rid of the apathy,
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we have to get more people involved.
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11:57
We know that if we can't have
a democracy in the United States,
a democracy in the United States,
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12:01
we can't have democracies
throughout the world,
throughout the world,
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12:03
unless people participate.
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12:05
So it is imperative that all of us
get out there and we say,
get out there and we say,
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12:09
"Get rid of the apathy,
get off of the sidewalk,
get off of the sidewalk,
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12:13
come and join the march
for peace and justice,
for peace and justice,
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12:15
let's make Coretta Scott's
vision a reality,
vision a reality,
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12:18
to have peace in the world."
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12:20
We recently had midterm elections
in the United States of America.
in the United States of America.
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12:23
And what did we see?
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1601
12:25
We saw that so many more women,
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12:27
young people, people of color, LGBT folks,
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12:30
were all elected to public office.
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1934
12:32
And we know this happened -- why?
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1935
12:34
Because so many women were on the march.
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12:37
We had the Women's March
in the United States.
in the United States.
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12:40
They had the Women's Marches
all over the world.
all over the world.
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2351
12:42
And so we now see
that we have this potential.
that we have this potential.
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12:46
We have this potential
to get rid of the apathy.
to get rid of the apathy.
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2310
12:48
And if we get everyone involved,
get everyone committed,
get everyone committed,
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12:52
then, I think, we can make
Coretta Scott's vision come true.
Coretta Scott's vision come true.
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12:56
So, I want to just remind everybody,
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12:58
throughout the world,
one of the things is,
one of the things is,
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13:01
we have power,
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13:03
poor people have power,
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1642
13:05
every citizen has power.
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13:06
But in order to achieve
the peace that we all yearn for,
the peace that we all yearn for,
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13:11
then we've all got to get involved.
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13:13
So, what do we say?
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13:15
Can we do it?
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We say, "Yes, we can!"
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And in Spanish, we say, "Sí, se puede."
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Thank you very much.
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13:21
(Applause)
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4708
ABOUT THE SPEAKER
Dolores Huerta - Civil rights activist, community organizerDolores Huerta is inspired by a passion to spend most of her time pursuing social justice and civil rights.
Why you should listen
Dolores Huerta is a civil rights activist and community organizer. She has worked for labor rights and social justice for more than 50 years. In 1962, she and Cesar Chavez founded the United Farm Workers union. She served as vice president and played a critical role in many of the union's accomplishments for four decades. In 2002, she received the Puffin/Nation $100,000 prize for Creative Citizenship, which she used to establish the Dolores Huerta Foundation (DHF).
DHF is connecting groundbreaking community-based organizing to state and national movements to register and educate voters, advocate for education reform, bring about infrastructure improvements in low-income communities, advocate for greater equality for the LGBT community and create strong leadership development. She has received numerous awards including The Eleanor Roosevelt Humans Rights Award from President Clinton in 1998. In 2012, President Obama bestowed Huerta with The Presidential Medal of Freedom, the highest civilian honor in the United States.
Dolores Huerta | Speaker | TED.com