Dolores

History tells us Cesar Chavez transformed the U.S. labor movement by leading the first farm workers’ union. But missing from this story is his equally influential co-founder, Dolores Huerta, who tirelessly led the fight for racial and labor justice alongside Chavez, becoming one of the most defiant feminists of the twentieth century.

Like so many powerful female advocates, Dolores and her sweeping reforms were, and still are, largely overlooked. Even as she empowered a generation of immigrants to stand up for their rights, her own relentless work ethic was constantly under attack. False accusations from foes and friends alike, of child neglect and immoral behavior from a woman who married three times and raised 11 children, pushed Dolores out of the very union she helped create. Still, she remains as steadfast in her fight as ever at the age of 87.

Peter Bratt’s provocative and energizing documentary challenges this incomplete, one-sided history and reveals the raw, personal stakes involved in committing one’s life to the fight for justice. Interweaving archival footage with interviews from Dolores and her contemporaries, the film sets the record straight on one of the most effective and undervalued civil and labor rights leaders in modern U.S. history.