Este Profundo Momento Histórico - Scroll down to read our statement addressing the unfortunate news regarding the passing of Dolores Huerta

Document. Preserve. Inspire.

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Document. Preserve. Inspire. *

Who we are

The Center for the Critical Study of the Health of Latinx Communities (Critical Study HLC), under the auspices of UC Berkeley’s Latinx Research Center, is a project that documents the rich history of contributions by Latinx-based social movements to justice in health.

Our Mission

Document the struggles of Latinx communities, to push for improved health conditions

Our Goals

This project was established with the important aim of documenting the unrepresented histories of the struggle of the Latinx and Chicanx communities for justice in health and quality of life–meaning housing, access to healthcare services, labor conditions, education, etc. Preserving this history is part of how we hope to reframe and challenge the systemic roots of health inequities in the Latinx community.

Our Research Sites

Why now?

The COVID-19 pandemic, epidemics such as HIV/AIDS, H1N1 and other chronic diseases have impacted Latinx populations disproportionately–unveiling the sometimes inhuman condition in which they live, work and die. Yet when responses to Latinx health disparities have received mainstream attention, they are often turned into projections of individual incompetence and cultural difference–responses that minimize the structural roots of these conditions. For this reason, our work highlights the legacies, past and present, of Latinx organizing to confront such inequalities–from challenging housing conditions, labor exploitation, environmental injustice, access to education, inadequate infrastructure. In our work, challenging standardized meanings of health towards a more critical definition is a necessary and urgent imperative–that will impact the next generations of Latinx youth and children.

Este Profundo Momento Histórico

In Memoriam: Dolores Huerta (1930–2026)

The Center for the Critical Study of the Health of Latinx Communities mourns the passing of Dolores Huerta, co-founder of the United Farm Workers (UFW) and one of the most influential labor and civil rights leaders of our time. We send our deepest condolences to her family, her loved ones, the Dolores Huerta Foundation, and the farmworker movement to which she devoted her life.

Dolores Huerta spent decades organizing for the dignity of farmworkers and underserved Latinx communities. She helped lead the 1965 Delano grape strike, negotiated contracts for better wages, fought for safer workplaces and improved standards of living, and access to unemployment and healthcare benefits for agricultural workers. These struggles were about health as much as labor. Her work showed that the well-being of our communities cannot be separated from the conditions in which people work and live.

On October 26, 2023, we were honored to welcome Dolores Huerta as a distinguished panelist for our event, Walking Through History: Activism in Labor and Health. She spoke about current labor conditions and shared a message to inspire the new generation of leaders to carry the work forward. Through her essence, in the spirit of UFW organizing, a deep sense of community and connectedness filled the room.

Her words that day were a call to action. She reminded us of the importance of the democratic process. She urged young people to stay engaged and to vote, and explained that boycotts and strikes are part of the path toward written legislation that secures the rights of marginalized people. She also spoke of the power of nonviolence: “You know, to go out there and say, we can win through non-violence. We have an army right here, right here, sitting right here. An army of organizers, an army of volunteers to spread that message out there. The message of peace and justice and respect for each other.” Her words inspired listeners of all ages, including the students, community members, and social justice leaders present that night, who could not help but feel united in her rallying call for continued progress.

It was an honor to share that space and conversation with her. Our community is privileged to have witnessed her unwavering dedication to the movement over so many decades. We feel the deepest gratitude and pride in having her as an emblem of leadership and achievement within the Latino/Chicano community. Dolores Huerta leaves behind a legacy that serves as a beacon of progress and advocacy. Her generosity, wisdom, and belief in the next generation are gifts we will carry with us always.

Dolores Huerta’s spirit and her fight live on forever, in every organizer she inspired, in every worker whose rights she helped secure, and in every community that continues to rise. ¡Sí, se puede!

With gratitude and respect,

The Center for the Critical Study of the Health of Latinx Communities

Written by: Sammy Diana Villaseñor

Regarding New Information about Cesar Chavez

The Center for the Critical Study of the Health of Latinx Communities stands in unwavering solidarity with Dolores Huerta, Ana Murguía, Debora Rojas, and all survivors of the sexual abuse associated with César Chávez. We are deeply heartbroken by the suffering these women endured, both in those painful moments and throughout the decades of silence that followed.

We hold these women, as well as those who have not yet come forward, in our thoughts with profound respect. We honor their courage in speaking their truth and recognize the extraordinary strength it takes to do so. Their bravery is both powerful and transformative.

We remain hopeful that their voices will help catalyze meaningful change, bringing greater accountability, fostering healing, and contributing to the dismantling of the harmful systems that allowed such abuse to persist. At the same time, we unconditionally support the proposal of the Ethnic Studies Department, the Chicanx Latinx Studio Program, and the Latinx Research Center (LRC) to demand the immediate change of the Chávez name across all UC centers and organizations.

We also ask our Governor to immediately change César Chávez Day, the names of colleges, streets, and avenues of our State, and to immediately substitute the name of Dolores Huerta in their place, and publicly acknowledge her as an emblematic figure of our Latinx communities' heroes and a valiant fighter for the rights of farmworkers. She truly represents our values and our fight for vindication.

We invite all community members to join us in supporting these changes. You can make your voice heard by contacting local and state officials to express your support, participating in public forums and meetings where these issues are discussed, or joining advocacy groups that are working toward accountability and healing in our institutions. Together, through collective action, we can honor the courage of survivors and help build a more just and inclusive future.