Dolores Huerta, Organizing for Justice, and the Cross

Screen shot from PBS NewsHour

This past week, Dolores Huerta was awarded the Medal of Freedom for her lifelong organizing work among farm workers. She is a woman who needs little introduction, especially in the world of community organizing. Dolores Huerta and Cesar Chavez organized farm workers to achieve better workers rights, and today, Bread for the World is one of several organizations working to continue their work by achieving justice for farm workers. Huerta was interviewed on PBS NewsHour about receiving the Medal of Freedom and about her work organizing farmworkers. One quote in particular stands out from her interview:

"We would say to the workers, you have power. And they would say, what kind of power do we have? It's in your person. And it is in your person. And you, together with other people, other workers, you can make the difference. But you have to remember that nobody is going to do it for you. If you don't get out there and try to solve your own problems, it's never going to change."

Lately, I have been reflecting on my own role in Bread for the World’s organizing department. Our main goal is to establish a circle of protection around policies that protect the most vulnerable in our society. But why do we organize? Why do I organize? 

Simply put, it is because of the cross. When I envision Jesus on the cross, I know what God is willing to do for humanity and the love that we are deemed worthy to receive. The message displayed, both by Huerta’s words and the example of the cross, is that each individual has worth and is worth fighting for.

As an organizer for Bread for the World, this is a message that I want members of Congress to know by heart. Most importantly, it is a way of life that I wish to instill in those affected by injustice, so they can demand a standard of living that they are worthy to receive.

Watch the interview with Dolores Huerta on PBS NewsHour below:

Watch Dolores Huerta Calls Herself 'a Born-Again Feminist' on PBS. See more from PBS NewsHour.

Keaton Andreas is a regional organizer at Bread for the World.