Dolores Huerta, the cofounder of the United Farm Workers and second-in-command under labor leader Cesar Chavez, passed away early Wednesday at her home in Bakersfield. She was 96, and the cause was reportedly cancer.A skilled organizer and hero in the labor movement of the 1970s and, as the New York Times notes, "a kind of Mexican American folk hero" unto herself who's been depicted in numerous murals across California and elsewhere, Dolores Huerta remained a powerful force into her final days. As one of her final efforts, Huerta bravely came forward in March to reveal she had been raped multiple times by her longtime compatriot Cesar Chavez — with one assault resulting in a pregnancy.Huerta's stunning revelations followed similar stories from two 66-year-old women who told the New York Times that they had been abused and/or assaulted by Chavez as teenagers. Taken together, the revelations have led to the dethroning of Chavez as a labor hero, and the stripping of his name from the many parks, plazas, and streets that have been named for him — with some being given Huerta's name instead.The announcement of Huerta's death came via an Instagram post from her family Wednesday morning. "We are deeply saddened to announced that our beloved mother, Dolores Huerta, has passed away today at the age of 96,” the post says. “As you can imagine, this is an incredibly difficult time for us, and we ask for privacy as we grieve this incredible loss to our family."The family adds, "We know that many of you around the world share in our mourning, and we will be following up on plans to recognize and celebrate her incredible life and legacy."Born in New Mexico, Huerta spent much of her life in the Stockton area. Alongside Chavez, Huerta took cues from Martin Luther King Jr. and practiced non-violent protest techniques, leading farmworkers to strike for better wages and working conditions. They cofounded the United Farm Workers in 1962, and famously led a national boycott of table grapes that began in 1968 that led to grape growers ultimately giving in to the union's demands."People thought we were crazy," Huerta told the Salt Lake Tribune in an interview. "They asked: ‘How are you going to organize farm workers? They are poor, powerless immigrants. They don’t have any money and they can’t vote.’"As the Times notes, Huerta was "arrested 22 times, roughed up by strikebreakers and once severely beaten by a police officer, suffering broken ribs and a ruptured spleen that left her disabled for months."She was also by the side of the pro-labor Senator Robert F. Kennedy at his primary rally in Los Angeles in 1968 the night he was fatally assassinated.Huerta is believed to have coined the now ubiquitous labor movement and Democratic Party slogan "Sí se puede" ("yes we can"), which President Barack Obama acknowledged in giving her the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 2012.She was also a mother to 14 children, some of whom grew up to be activists themselves.Governor Gavin Newsom and First Partner Jennifer Siebel Newsom issued a statement saying, "Dolores represented the best of us. California — and the United States — would not be what we are today without her resolute spirit, her passion for justice and fairness, and her commitment to those overlooked and forgotten."House Speaker Emerita Nancy Pelosi says, "Dolores was a dear friend, and we all responded to her rallying cry, ‘Sí se puede,’ which inspired generations of Americans to believe in the power of collective action. I was honored to host Dolores’ birthday celebration at the United States Capitol when she turned 90, a compliment she returned to me at the California Democratic Party Convention in San Francisco earlier this year. May it be a comfort to her family and loved ones that so many mourn their loss and are praying for them at this sad time."And Bay Area House Rep. Ro Khanna said in a statement that Huerta was “an inspiration for generations of organizers. Her courageous leadership in civil disobedience set an invaluable example in nonviolence. Dolores’s memory will live on."We'll update you as we learn more about memorial celebrations being planned. ...read more read less