The Smithsonian Institution is honoring California labor activist Dolores Huerta with a special exhibit opening next week.
The National Portrait Gallery’s One Life series has honored 10 notable Americans everyone from Elvis Presley to Martin Luther King Jr. And now, Dolores Huerta.
The museum is honoring Huerta for her years of activism and her role in founding the United Farm Workers union with Cesar Chavez. Huerta is the first Latina in the series.
“It makes me feel very special but I have to say that I’m going to be in the exhibit but I’m there on the shoulders and the backs of so many people that did the work," says Dolores.
As the UFW’s lobbyist and contract negotiator, Huerta fought for better working conditions and more rights for farmworkers in the 1960’s and 70’s.
The exhibit will feature photos, artwork and UFW memorabilia. It opens July 3rd and runs through next May in Washington D.C.
