Nevada leaders mourn Dolores Huerta, whose name lives on at a North Las Vegas resource center

What happened

Dolores Huerta, the organizer and civil rights advocate who co-founded the United Farm Workers union, died Wednesday at age 96, the Las Vegas Review-Journal reported. Nevada lawmakers and labor leaders released statements mourning her.

According to the Review-Journal, Huerta often came to Las Vegas for political events and had been championed by Nevada Democratic officials and labor leaders for decades. She spoke and marched nationwide on race, poverty, LGBTQ+ rights and women's rights, and President Barack Obama awarded her the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 2012.

Her mark on North Las Vegas

The Dolores Huerta Resource Center

In 2025, officials opened the Dolores Huerta Resource Center in North Las Vegas, a bilingual hub that helps residents reach social services and programs using federal funding, the Review-Journal reported. On Wednesday, an easel with Huerta's photo stood outside the building, though employees told the outlet they were not authorized to speak with media.

North Las Vegas Mayor Pamela Goynes-Brown said in a statement that Huerta's legacy will carry on at the center. "Dolores Huerta did not wait," she said, adding that residents there build skills, find support and create better futures for their families. More community news from around the valley is available on our site.

A congressional connection

U.S. Sen. Catherine Cortez Masto helped secure funding for the center, according to the Review-Journal. U.S. Rep. Steven Horsford, whose district includes the center, wrote on X that Huerta's legacy lives on in Nevada's labor movement.

A vetoed bill and a renaming effort

Assembly Bill 98

Democrats in the Nevada Legislature tried last year to make April 10 Dolores Huerta Day, the Review-Journal reported. Assembly Bill 98 passed both the Assembly and the state Senate largely along party lines but was vetoed by Gov. Joe Lombardo, who said he does not support bills that statutorily mandate proclamations.

Assemblymember Cinthia Zermeño Moore, D-Las Vegas, who sponsored the bill, said in a statement through the Nevada Latino Legislative Caucus that she met Huerta in 2007. She said "no veto can diminish her contributions to our country and the generations she inspired."

Changes to local place names

In March, a New York Times investigation reported allegations that Huerta had been sexually abused in the 1960s, a secret she said she kept for 60 years out of fear it would undo progress made for farm workers. After that report, local officials moved to rename a portion of Pecos Road and a park in the east Las Vegas Valley, according to the Review-Journal.

How Nevada officials responded

Many statements echoed Huerta's phrase "Sí, se puede!" which translates to "Yes, it can be done." Susie Martinez, executive secretary-treasurer of the Nevada AFL-CIO, the state's largest collection of labor organizations, said, "We honor her life by carrying that work forward."

Cortez Masto said on social media, "There are no words to fully capture Dolores' life and legacy." Sen. Jacky Rosen said Huerta's "ability to energize and engage a community advocating for a better future was unmatched." Rep. Dina Titus wrote on X that Huerta was "a warrior for marginalized communities and fought to ensure safer working conditions for all."

What to watch next

• The status of the effort to rename part of Pecos Road and an east Las Vegas Valley park, which the Review-Journal said local officials moved to do but did not report as complete.
• Programs at the Dolores Huerta Resource Center in North Las Vegas, where the mayor said Huerta's legacy will carry on.
• Whether lawmakers revisit a Dolores Huerta Day after Gov. Joe Lombardo's veto of Assembly Bill 98.