Dolores Huerta at Gilroy Library: A ‘Full Circle’ of inspiration

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GILROY – As labor legend Dolores Huerta took the stage at the Wheeler Center in November, a 600-strong crowd collectively surged to their feet with an exuberant and, for some, tearful ovation for the small but mighty nonagenarian.

The co-founder of the United Farm Workers Association – and originator of the rousing motto, “¡Sí se puede!” – was in Gilroy to join filmmaker Luis Valdez and author Francisco Jiménez in a panel discussion about the importance of resilience, moderated by NBC Bay Area news reporter Damian Trujillo. It was the kick-off event to mark the arrival of a traveling Smithsonian Museum exhibit at the Gilroy Library: “Dolores Huerta: Revolution in the Fields.”

For Gilroy branch librarian Elizabeth Muñoz-Rosas, that revolution was the start of a cycle of inspiration begetting inspiration; a “full circle” recently completed when she secured both a two-month residency for the exhibit and Huerta’s in-person appearance.

“My whole family has been involved in working the fields, my grandparents were in the Bracero program,” Muñoz-Rosas explained. “South County and agriculture have been part of my family and my heritage.”

Her father had a life-changing encounter with Huerta when the UFW was mobilizing and supporting farmworkers in the Central Valley in the late 1960s. Huerta and César Chávez would walk the fields to invite workers to come to their evening meetings, and she spoke directly to Muñoz-Rosas’ father.

“The convincing power of her words really motivated him to find something better for his family,” Muñoz-Rosas said. “And I believe that if she hadn’t spoken to him, if she hadn’t gone out there to the fields, he wouldn’t have moved to the city and I wouldn’t have gone to school. It was a full circle, to meet the person that changed my life forever. Now I just want to pay it forward.”

This personal and heartfelt connection to the community, its people and its culture makes Muñoz-Rosas a perfect example of the people behind the Santa Clara County Library District. Their shared mission, in branches from Gilroy to Los Altos: Lifelong learning and community evolution.

“Creating this really extraordinarily successful experience in the community here really represents what libraries are all about,” said County Librarian Jennifer Weeks. “Our staff are key to how that can happen individually in each library. It isn’t about getting a book; it’s about connecting people to resources so that the community can rise together and thrive.”

Different areas have different community needs, Weeks said. And how the library meets those needs can take many forms. That can differ greatly across the span of Santa Clara County, and it’s the personal dedication and local knowledge of library staff that guides how each branch can best serve the patrons/clients.

For example, when Gilroy Library staffers saw the snack vending machine being cleared out on a daily basis by hungry teens, they created the Meals at the Library program to offer free, healthy snacks on school day afternoons. To give at-risk youth a place to get off the streets in evening hours, they started the Rise Up program, a partnership and intervention program that aims to steer youth clear of gangs and trouble.

“The kids in Rise Up, some of them had never been to the ocean or the beach, and we live so close by,” said Muñoz-Rosas. “Just seeing their faces – in seeing something beyond their immediate environment, they could see the world is bigger than what they see every day. It was that moment that I felt we need more of these programs to come to Gilroy, where we reenergize the youth, let them know it is possible to go further than what the community has to offer – making them believe that it can be done, it can be accomplished.”

About the Exhibit, "Dolores Huerta: Revolution in the Fields"

Learn about Dolores Huerta and the farm worker movement of the 1960s and ’70s at the traveling Smithsonian exhibit, which will be at the Gilroy Library until Jan. 22.

It’s a look not only at Huerta’s public life as a labor activist, but also at her life as a teacher, mother, communicator, lobbyist and contract negotiator. The exhibit also delves into the multi-ethnic aspects of the labor movement, including the vital roles of Filipinos and African Americans.

The exhibit includes text in both English and Spanish, and features reproduced historic and personal photographs that detail Huerta’s life from her early influences through the United Farm Workers’ grape boycotts and landmark agreements with grape-growing conglomerates.

The farm workers movement of the 1960s and 1970s advanced the cause of laborers, many of them Mexican Americans, working and living in dire conditions. Its charismatic leader, César Chávez, has rightfully earned a place in American history. The exhibit broadens the understanding of this movement through a careful look at the under-acknowledged contributions of Dolores Huerta, co-founder of the union, lobbyist, and contract negotiator on its behalf.

The Smithsonian Institution Traveling Exhibition Service includes the Dolores Huerta bilingual mobile app, designed to accompany the traveling exhibit. It features 16 videos of Huerta discussing her lifetime of fighting for the rights of farm workers. Visitors can download the app by searching for “Dolores Huerta” in the app store or on Google Play.

Huerta, filmmaker Luis Valdez and author Francisco Jiménez were part of a panel discussion on resilience at the Wheeler Center next to the Gilroy Library in November. Video of the event is available at https://sccld.org/dolores/

• WHAT: Dolores Huerta: Revolution in the Fields
• WHEN: Through Jan. 22
• WHERE: Gilroy Library, 350 W. 6th St., Gilroy
  HOURS:
  • Monday thru Wednesday 1 p.m. – 9 p.m.
  • Thursday thru Saturday 10 a.m. – 6 p.m. 
  • Sunday 1 p.m. – 5 p.m.

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