(EL PASO INDEPENDENT SCHOOL DISTRICT – May 13, 2024) — Lori Huerta, the daughter of the renowned American labor leader and civil rights activist Dolores Huerta, delivered a compelling address to students at Franklin High School in late April.
Lori Huerta spoke to dozens of students in the Franklin Magnet Center Library to remind people of her mother’s works, and to remind a younger generation of students about the challenges Mexican Americans faced in the United States during the mid-1900s.
Mexican American Studies teacher at Franklin High School, Karina Echavarri helped put the special event together. “I organized this event in hopes that students take away the knowledge and background of the Chicano/Farm Workers Movement,” said Echavarri. “Mexican American Studies is a beneficial course for these students because of the correlation it has to the U.S. History State exam.”
In 1960, Dolores Huerta co-founded the Agricultural Workers Association, collaborating closely with the esteemed American civil rights activist César Chávez. Together, they established the National Farm Workers Association, a precursor to the United Agricultural Workers Organizing Committee.
During her presentation, Huerta emphasized her mother's unwavering resolve, recounting stories of Dolores Huerta's tireless advocacy on behalf of Latino/Mexican/Chicano migrant farm workers. Huerta highlighted her mother's relentless pursuit of improved living conditions, access to healthcare, and the eradication of police brutality.
“Following my Mexican American Studies class, students have engaged in meaningful conversations at home, discovering ancestral ties to the Bracero program,” Eschavarri shared. “This course is about embracing our heritage and broadening our understanding of history. I am privileged to teach this class, and I envision a future where every high school in El Paso ISD offers this invaluable opportunity.”
