A new Arlington street topper honors this activist and hero of the Latino community

Fifty residents, including elected officials, cheered the unveiling of the Dolores Huerta street topper on Arlington’s International Corridor (State Highway 303) on May 27.

Wishing to recognize cultural/historical heroes of the Muslim, Vietnamese, and Latino/a communities, Arlington, known as the American Dream City, had installed street toppers for Ambassador Syed Ahsani and General Tran Hung Dao. Along with Mayor Jim Ross, three local Latinas shared their jubilance for the Huerta topper.

As a University of Texas student, Amanda Arizola met Huerta for the first time. After Arizola relayed UT student activism, Huerta told them it wasn’t enough. She never forgot Huerta’s passionate motivation to mobilize for social and economic justice. Living on East Arlington for several years, Arizola was personally aware of Latino/a struggles on that side of town. The topper will act as a constant reminder to emulate Huerta, a Presidential Medal of Freedom recipient and co-founder of the United Farm Workers.

During his awarding of the medal to Huerta on May 29, 2012, President Barack Obama admitted to his “stealing” of the Sí Se Puede/Yes We Can chant. Huerta coined the rally cry for the UFW workers in 1972. Obama used the inspirational call in his 2004 Illinois U.S Senate race, his 2008 presidential campaign, and 2017 farewell address.

Jo Anna Cardoza heard the call to serve her community after growing up in East Arlington since she was 5 years old. She recalled her single mother struggling to earn enough money to raise her children. Huerta’s history as a mother of 11 children fighting for farm workers to receive just pay, safe working conditions, and the right to negotiate union contracts resonated with Cardoza.

She observed that Huerta encountered shoe-less, hungry farm worker children when she taught elementary school in 1950s California. Huerta decided she would make a bigger impact in improving the lives of her students if she organized their parents for better wages. Cardoza pointed out that 70 percent of AISD students are classified as economically disadvantaged and some attend school missing meals. The Huerta topper will act as a reminder of her work to feed children, improve living standards, and address civic issues. As vice president for marketing in the Odeh Group, Cardoza has the business expertise to speak up and step up.

Cardoza recalled that Huerta addressed TCU students on March 29, 2023, and talked about registering voters for John F. Kennedy’s presidential race and Ted Kennedy’s behind-the-scenes negotiations that facilitated the passage of the 1986 immigration amnesty bill. The law allowed Cardoza’s undocumented mother to become a naturalized U.S. citizen.

Cardoza revealed the selection committee had initially chosen César Chávez as the honorary topper submission request to the city. After further discussion that a Huerta topper would be the first in Arlington named after a Latina, the group withdrew the Chávez selection. Overshadowed by Chávez’s historical coverage, Huerta’s contributions were barely known. Sue Phillips, longtime resident and the unofficial “mayor” of East Arlington, said she was grateful that the committee had chosen a female for public esteem.

Dora Gonzales (full disclosure: the writer’s wife) who had lived in Arlington since 1958, told the audience that she heard nothing about Latino/a heroes in her AISD education. After graduating from UTA and Texas Woman’s University with teaching and bilingual certifications, she taught her students the history and contributions of Chávez and Huerta.

She said, “We make history today with the Dolores Huerta unveiling. For the first time in Arlington history, the city publicly acknowledges a visible marker of the esteem we hold for Dolores Huerta. May this topper act as a road sign for Latino youth to study hard, to contribute to their community, to excel in their chosen career paths ... To the Latino community, let us strive to live up to the legacy of sacrifice, good will, and courage that Dolores Huerta demonstrated and still demonstrates throughout her life.”

At 93, Huerta continues her work for community empowerment through her Dolores Huerta Foundation, focusing on Latina leadership training. At the TCU presentation, Latina students listened and cheered as the still quick-minded and passionate Huerta talked about the grapes of wrath struggle. Huerta credited the genius of Chávez for much of their union organizing success. She led the audience in clapping hands in progressive speed, à la union organizing rallies.

Dolores Huerta toppers reminded Dora Gonzales: “to stand side by side, arm in arm with like-minded individuals in the lucha or the fight for the American Dream and the American Dream City.”

Author Richard J. Gonzales writes and speaks about Fort Worth, national and international Latino history.