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“DOLORES HUERTA: Revolution in the Fields/Revolución en los Campos” special Smithsonian Traveling Exhibit on display at Brownsville Museum of Fine Arts through Saturday, October 1, 2022 - Titans of the Texas Legislature

FEATURED: The University of Texas Rio Grande Valley, the City of Brownsville and the Brownsville Museum of Fine Arts collaborated to bring a special Smithsonian Institution Traveling Exhibit, “DOLORES HUERTA: Revolution in the Fields / Revolución en los Campos.” The exhibit will be on display at the Brownsville Museum of Fine Arts through Saturday, October 1, 2022.

Photograph By DAVID PIKE

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“DOLORES HUERTA: Revolution in the Fields/Revolución en los Campos” special Smithsonian Traveling Exhibit on display at Brownsville Museum of Fine Arts through Saturday, October 1, 2022

By LETTY FERNÁNDEZ

A special Smithsonian Institution Traveling Exhibit, “DOLORES HUERTA: Revolution in the Fields/Revolución en los Campos,” will be on display at the Brownsville Museum of Fine Arts through Saturday, October 1, 2022.

The University of Texas Rio Grande Valley, the City of Brownsville, and the Brownsville Museum of Fine Arts on Monday,August 1, 2022 began hosting the event at the museum, which is located at 660 E. Ringgold Street.

Those three entities collaborated to bring the traveling exhibit to Brownsville.

https://www.sites.si.edu/s/exhibitions

“This is an extremely exciting and significant exhibit that honors legendary activist and farm labor leader Dolores Huerta,” said Dr. Dahlia Guerra, Assistant Vice President for Public Arts, the University of Texas Rio Grande Valley. “We are proud to partner with the City of Brownsville and the Brownsville Museum of Fine Arts to bring this exhibit to the Rio Grande Valley to celebrate Huerta’s life and work.

“Her dramatic impact on the lives of children, women and farmworkers, among other achievements, is a powerful story and history is important to our Valley community,” she added.

The exhibition explores Huerta’s public life as an activist and co-founder of the United Farm Workers Union, and what led her to become a Latina civil rights icon.

In her life as a communicator, organizer, lobbyist, contract negotiator, teacher and mother, her unparalleled leadership skills helped dramatically improve the lives of farmworkers.

The exhibit includes reproductions of historic and personal photographs and other graphic elements.

It also includes a free, user-friendly mobile tour smart phone app featuring interviews with Huerta; a short documentary video; custom educational activities to increase and encourage dialogue with visitors; and additional education resources.

Individuals may visit the exhibit Monday through Saturday, 10 a.m. – 4 p.m., at the Brownsville Museum of Fine Arts, located at 660 E. Ringgold St.

HUERTA A RECIPIENT OF A 2012 PRESIDENTIAL MEDAL OF FREEDOM

In 2012, Huerta was a Presidential Medal of Freedom recipient, which was bestowed upon her by President Barack Obama, in part of her efforts and successes as a champion for civil rights, workers, and women’s issues.

https://doloreshuerta.org/tag/presidential-medal-of-freedom/

With César Chávez, she co-founded the National Farmworkers Association in 1962, which later became the United Farm Workers of America.

Chávez(March 31, 1927 – April 23, 1993) was an American labor leader and civil rights activist. Along with Dolores Huerta, he co-founded the National Farm Workers Association (NFWA), which later merged with the Agricultural Workers Organizing Committee (AWOC) to become the United Farm Workers (UFW) labor union. Ideologically, his world-view combined leftist politics with Catholic social teachings.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cesar_Chavez

Huerta has served as a community activist and a political organizer, and was influential in securing the passage of California’s Agricultural Labor Relations Act of 1975, and disability insurance for farmworkers in California.

In 2002, she founded the Dolores Huerta Foundation, an organization dedicated to developing community organizers and national leaders. In 1998, President Clinton awarded her the Eleanor Roosevelt Award for Human Rights.

The Eleanor Roosevelt Award for Human Rights was established in 1998 by the President of the United States Bill Clinton, honoring outstanding promoters of rights in the United States. The award was first awarded on the 50th anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, honoring Eleanor Roosevelt’s role as the “driving force” in the development of the United Nation’s Universal Declaration of Human Rights.

The award was presented from 1998 to the end of the Clinton Administration in 2001.

In 2010, Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton revived the Eleanor Roosevelt Award for Human Rights and presented the award on behalf of President Obama.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eleanor_Roosevelt_Human_Rights_Award

DOLORES HUERTA DAY IN CALIFORNIA DECLARED IN 2021

On Saturday, April 10, 2021, Gov. Gavin Newsom declared that day as Dolors Huerta Day in that state, and he provided the following the following biographical highlights, which follow:

Huerta was born on April 10, 1930, in Dawson, New Mexico.

Taught by her family the importance of giving back to her community and giving a voice to the voiceless, Huerta has been a tireless advocate for working people of California.

Huerta’s lifelong pursuit of justice was sparked in the Central Valley when, while teaching the children of farmworkers, she often saw her students come to school hungry and with bare feet.

She found her passion fighting for the rights of workers and their families and has continued to champion their right to equality ever since.

Huerta began her advocacy work by serving as a leader of the Community Service Organization in Stockton and forming the Agricultural Workers Association, where she increased voter registration in her community and advocated for neighborhood improvements.

Through this work, she joined forces with César Chávez to call for better conditions for farmworkers and their families. Together with Larry Itliong, Philip Vera Cruz, Pete Velasco and Andy Imutan, they formed the United Farm Workers in Delano, California and took on table grape growers who had been exploiting their farmworkers.

Huerta was also instrumental in the nationwide boycott of grapes that led to the first farmworker union contracts. Through her fierce advocacy, she helped secure the California Agricultural Labor Relations Act of 1975, a first-in-the-nation law that extended collective bargaining rights to farmworkers.

She remained committed to nonviolent resistance, even after nearly losing her life when she was beaten at a protest in 1988.

It is for these acts of bravery and determination that Huerta became the first Latina inducted into the National Women’s Hall of Fame in 1993, and in2012, was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the highest civilian award in the United States.

Huerta continues to be a powerful force for social justice and empowerment for all.

Through the Dolores Huerta Foundation, she continues to build upon her legacy of civic engagement by training the next generation of community organizers and advocating for the working poor, women and children.

Throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, the (California governor’s) Administration has worked to honor Huerta’s legacy with actions to protect agriculture and farmworkers.

On her birthday, April 10, we celebrate Huerta’s lifelong commitment to justice for all and the many trails she paved for generations of activists.

May her rallying cry of “¡Si Se Puede!” (Yes, It Can Be Done!) continue to inspire us to fight for the change our communities need in order to thrive.

https://ufw.org/research/history/history-si-se-puede/

Pharr City Manager Chief Andy Harvey Named New Co-Chair of national Law Enforcement Immigration Task Force

Police Chief and City ManagerChief Andy Harvey of Pharr — on the border with Reynosa, Mexico — on Tuesday, August 2, 2022, was name as a new co-chair of the Law Enforcement Immigration Task Force.

The Law Enforcement Immigration Task Force is a dedicated law enforcement effort around common- sense immigration reform, consisting of Chiefs, Sheriffs and law enforcement leaders across the country.

https://www.policeforum.org/assets/BuildingTrustImmigrantCommunities.pdf

“Chief Harvey’s more than 26 years of public service and leadership experience, spanning positions in law enforcement, the military, and city government, as well as his expertise in immigration are welcome assets as he joins the task force’s leadership,” said Sheriff Ed González of Harris County, Texas.

Harvey has been outspoken about the need for better border and immigration policies, including in testimony before the Senate Judiciary Committee about policing and immigration in 2019.

He assumes his leadership role at a pivotal moment for border and immigration reforms.

In polling earlier this year, about four in five respondents said they would support “Republicans and Democrats working together on immigration reforms that strengthen border security, create a pathway to citizenship for undocumented immigrants who came to the United States as children, and ensure a legal, reliable workforce for America’s farmers and ranchers.” “

What’s actually occurring in our local communities is important to the larger conversation surrounding immigration. We are all less safe without commonsense immigration reforms and practical, effective border security,” said Harvey. “Let’s work together to make our nation safer.”

In addition to González, Harvey’s fellow co-chair is Sheriff Margaret Mims of Fresno County, California.

In the Rio Grande Valley, Hidalgo County Sheriff J.E. “Eddie” Guerra, Harlingen Police Chief Mike Markle, and McAllen Police Chief Víctor Rodríguez also are members of the Law Enforcement Immigration Task Force.

The organization also keeps a list of news media coverage about its activities and legislative efforts, including the following publicity generated by or about its members throughout the nation:

• Charlotte Observer: Letter to the Editor: Aiding ICE
Letter to the editor by Sheriff Garry McFadden (Mecklenburg County, NC), July 17, 2022

• San Antonio Express-News: Bexar County sheriff slams ‘invasion’ rhetoric that followed migrant trailer tragedy
Features Sheriff Javier Salazar (Bexar County, TX), July 6, 2022

• ABC News: Texas sheriff pens letter to Biden about the migrant crisis
Features Sheriff Javier Salazar (Bexar County, TX), June 30, 2022

• Border Report:DACA advocates urge Congress to pass lasting bipartisan immigration reform
Features Chief David Valentin (Santa Ana, CA) and Chief Andy Harvey (Pharr, TX), June 13, 2022

• NPR:GOP lawsuit halts most migration from Mexico. Yet, desperate people continue to cross
Features Sheriff David Hathaway (Santa Cruz County, AZ), June 1, 2022

• NPR:There are protests along the U.S.-Mexico border after judge blocks ending Title 42
Features Sheriff David Hathaway (Santa Cruz County, AZ), May 25, 2022

• Fronteras Desk:Santa Cruz County sheriff says Title 42 is fueling border chaos and should end
Features Sheriff David Hathaway (Santa Cruz County, AZ), May 11, 2022

• Arizona Republic: Take it from a border sheriff: Title 42 doesn’t help us. End it now
Op-ed by Sheriff David Hathaway (Santa Cruz County, AZ), May 9, 2022

• The Rational Middle: Border Troubles with Chief Andy Harvey
Features Chief Andy Harvey (Pharr, TX), May 4, 2022

• The Rational Middle: Should local police act as immigration enforcement?
Features Chief Andy Harvey (Pharr, TX), May 4, 2022

• Dallas Morning News: Is the border ready for the lifting of Title 42, the health policy that turns away asylum-seekers?
Features Chief Andy Harvey (Pharr, TX), April 22, 2022

• Baptist News Global: Once more with feeling: Congressional action on immigration is urgent
Features Chief Andy Harvey (Pharr, TX), April 14, 2022

• The Des Moines Register: Kim Reynolds’ Republican response is a chance to inspire radical unity — and real immigration reform
Op-ed by Ret. Director of Public Safety Mark Prosser (Storm Lake, IA), March 1, 2022

https://leitf.org/news-articles/

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David A. Díaz contributed to this article. For more on this and other Texas legislative news stories that affect the Rio Grande Valley metropolitan region, please log on to Titans of the Texas Legislature (TitansoftheTexasLegislature.com).

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