April 29, 2023 - By Juan Flores, UC Merced - The UC Merced Center for the Humanities is hosting activist and labor leader Dolores Huerta for its Distinguished Lecture in the Humanities.

The free event is scheduled for Monday, May 1, at 5:30 p.m. in Classroom and Office Building 1, room 102. It will be followed by a reception on the second floor of the Leo and Dottie Kolligian Library at 6:30 p.m.

Attendees will also have the opportunity to view an art exhibit in the library that showcases the farmworker movement in the Central Valley, with images by the late photographer and labor activist George Ballis.

"Building a New Future: Art and Activism in the Central Valley," which is on display through July 28, documents housing and working conditions in the Valley beginning in the 1950s, and chronicles farm labor organizing efforts by the Agricultural Workers Organizing Committee, National Farm Workers Association and United Farm Workers (UFW). Huerta co-founded the UFW and became one of its most visible spokespersons.

An opening reception for the exhibit was held April 13. El Teatro Campesino co-founder Agustín Lira performed a selection of songs and led a discussion afterward.

Registration is now full for this event. People who wish to be added to the waiting list can still register online, and an update will be provided Monday if spots become available. Parking will be free after 5 p.m. in both the Le Grand Lot and North Bowl Lot 1.


Source: UC Merced