US civil rights leader Dolores Huerta dies aged 96
Dolores Huerta, the farmworker champion who co-founded the United Farm Workers and coined 'Si, se puede', has died aged 96.
Dolores Huerta, the American labour and civil rights leader who co-founded the United Farm Workers, has died aged 96.
A former teacher, she left the classroom after seeing her pupils arrive hungry, and spent decades organising farmworkers for fair pay, clean drinking water and rest breaks in the fields.
She coined the slogan 'Si, se puede' — 'Yes, we can' — which became a rallying cry far beyond the farmworker movement.
In 2012 she received the Presidential Medal of Freedom, America's highest civilian honour, and she remained active well into her nineties on voting, immigration and women's rights.
Her family said her work must go on, and that plans to celebrate her life and legacy would follow.
Reporting based on coverage from BBC News.