Dolores Huerta, a central organizer in California’s farmworker movement, died Wednesday morning in Bakersfield at age 96, her family said, SFGATE reported¹.

Family spokesperson Erik Olvera told SFGATE she had been battling cancer and declined to name the type, citing the family’s wishes¹. The family said it was deeply saddened and would share plans to recognize her life¹. Olvera said she had continued attending events and urging people to vote in the 2026 midterms until a few weeks earlier¹.

Born in New Mexico in 1930 and raised in Stockton, Huerta co-founded the National Farm Workers Association with César Chávez in 1962, the precursor to the United Farm Workers, SFGATE reported¹. Minnesota Reformer said she helped organize the Delano grape strike that began in 1965 with Filipino workers seeking higher wages². SFGATE said she helped organize that strike, pressed for collective bargaining, and is credited with the slogan “Sí, se puede”¹.

Her work extended to immigration, women’s rights and voter registration, and President Barack Obama awarded her the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 2012, SFGATE reported¹. The same outlet said her death came months after she publicly said Chávez had sexually abused her decades earlier¹.

Funeral and memorial arrangements had not been detailed in the reports reviewed¹.