The radical legacy of Dolores Huerta comes to Norfolk

“Dolores,” the documentary about legendary civil rights activist Dolores Huerta will be at the Norfolk Library on Oct. 19.
Provided
“Dolores,” the documentary about legendary civil rights activist Dolores Huerta will be at the Norfolk Library on Oct. 19.
On Sunday, Oct. 19 at 5 p.m., the Norfolk Library will host a free public screening of “Dolores,” a critically acclaimed documentary about Dolores Huerta, one of the most important — and often overlooked — figures in American labor and civil rights history. Now 95, Huerta co-founded the United Farm Workers union with César Chavez and helped lead the grape boycott of the 1960s, a powerful act of economic resistance that brought national attention to the exploitation of farm workers.
Directed by Peter Bratt and executive produced by Carlos Santana, “Dolores” presents an unflinching portrait of a woman whose voice, body and will shaped the political terrain of the United States.
In 1970, Huerta was organizing in Arizona when a group told her change was impossible.
“They said, ‘Oh, Dolores, in California, you can do these things but here in Arizona, you can’t,’” Huerta recalled in a recent interview by phone. “And my response was, ‘Sí se puede in Arizona.’” When she shared that message at a rally, the crowd rose to their feet, chanting “Sí se puede,” and a call to action was born.
President Obama adopted the slogan for his 2008 campaign. “Yes We Can” posters and stickers were everywhere. Obama, having mistakenly credited Chavez with coining the phrase, later apologized as he honored Huerta with the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 2012.
Huerta wears the badge of feminist icon with pride. “I always thought I was a feminist because my mother was a businesswoman,” she said. “She divorced my dad because he was abusive and always taught me to have my own bank account, always pushed me to speak out.”
But, like many raised Catholic, Huerta once believed birth control and abortion were sins. Through her friendships with Gloria Steinem and Eleanor Smeal, that changed. Huerta is a founding member of the Feminist Majority Foundation, led by Smeal, which promotes nonviolence, equality, and women’s empowerment.
“There are two big issues in the Feminist Majority Foundation,” Huerta explained. “One is a woman’s right to abortion — women must control their own bodies. The second is back in 1987, we launched the Feminization of Power campaign to get more women elected. With one campaign, we succeeded in getting the largest number of women of color into California’s state legislature.”
How does she feel about the word feminist now?
“Well, now we have to use the word. There’s a difference between women’s policies and feminist policies. Look at the Trump cabinet — there are many women, but the policies don’t protect women. Our goal is to get more feminists elected. We will never have peace in the world until feminists take power.”
There are few moments more urgent than now to gather in community to reckon with these powerful words and the rest of Huerta’s radical legacy. This film offers not just biography but revolutionary remembrance — telling the story of a leader, a mother, an uncompromising feminist and a visionary who still fights for liberation.
Huerta still believes deeply in the power of economic pressure and solidarity. “We saw it with the Target boycott,” she said. “They were going to drop DEI policies, so people stopped shopping. No picketing — just word of mouth. And it worked. Shares dropped. The CEO resigned. Now we have to be bigger and more coordinated in our efforts.”
She also praised recent community resistance to ICE raids. “In L.A., people stood in front of a business to stop ICE detentions. What ICE didn’t expect was the Anglo community to show up too. That kind of solidarity is powerful. ”
Huerta’s nephew, John Fernandez, who lives in Colebrook, Connecticut, will introduce the screening and share a personal perspective on her legacy.
Asked what advice she has for young activists, Huerta pointed to today’s digital tools. “Social media, cell phones — people can organize fast. Look at George Floyd. That one video sparked a global movement.”
Huerta reminds us that organizing takes discipline, clarity, and a refusal to accept the violence of poverty, racism, misogyny, and xenophobia as inevitable. Economic resistance — boycotts, strikes, direct action — remain among the most potent tools we have.
“You can’t learn leadership by osmosis,” she said. “You’ve gotta live it.” And live it she has — and does. At 95, Huerta still dances weekly at a jazz workshop in Bakersfield and leads her foundation’s work on voter turnout and redistricting reforms in California.
As always, she reminds us: “We have to stay active. We have to participate. Change doesn’t happen by itself — we make it happen.”
For more information about the work of the Dolores Huerta Foundation, visit:
https://doloreshuerta.org. To RSVP for the Oct. 19 screening, visit: norfolklibrary.org/events/documentary-film-dolores
LAKEVILLE — Rhys V. Bowen, 65, of Foxboro, Massachusetts, died unexpectedly in his sleep on Sept. 15, 2025. Rhys was born in Sharon, Connecticut, on April 9, 1960 to Anne H. Bowen and the late John G. Bowen. His brother, David, died in 1979.
Rhys grew up at The Hotchkiss School in Lakeville, where his father taught English. Attending Hotchkiss, Rhys excelled in academics and played soccer, basketball, and baseball. During these years, he also learned the challenges and joys of running, and continued to run at least 50 miles a week, until the day he died.
In 1982 after graduating summa cum laude from Harvard College, Rhys returned to Hotchkiss to teach biology, where he met his wife of 35 years, Rebecca (Becky) Snow. After two years of teaching, he worked at a research field site in Borneo, then went on to the University of California, Davis where he earned a PhD in Animal Behavior in 1995.
Rather than follow an academic tenure track, Rhys preferred the solitary focus of field ornithology, and he spent several decades researching the ecology of bird species in California and on Cape Cod and the Islands. Rhys believed passionately in supporting biodiversity through habitat preservation. His proudest achievements, therefore, came through his work for the Lakes Region Conservation Trust, in New Hampshire, where he served on committees and the Board of Trustees for twenty years, including three years as Chair.
Deeply intellectual and curious, Rhys learned Homeric Greek so he could read The Odyssey and The Iliad in their original language. An amateur Melville scholar, he would wax poetic about reading Moby-Dick for the umpteenth time.Rhys’s spirit was filled by the performing arts. Concerts by the Handel and Haydn Society and Boston Early Music Festival often brought tears to his eyes, while Boston Bluegrass Union shows delivered toe-tapping fidgetiness.
Rhys will be missed by his wife, Becky Snow, his mother, Anne Bowen, extended family, friends, and anyone who had the pleasure of knowing him.
A service will be held at The Hotchkiss School chapel on Saturday, Nov. 15, 2025 at 1 p.m..
In honor of Rhys’s memory, donations can be made to the Lakes Region Conservation Trust.
LAKEVILLE — Kelsey K. Horton, 43, a lifelong area resident, died peacefully on Saturday, Sept. 27, 2025, at Norwalk Hospital in Norwalk, Connecticut, following a courageous battle with cancer. Kelsey worked as a certified nursing assistant and administrative assistant at Noble Horizons in Salisbury, from 1999 until 2024, where she was a very respected and loved member of their nursing and administrative staff.
Born Oct. 4, 1981, in Sharon, she was the daughter of W. Craig Kellogg of Southern Pines, North Carolina, and JoAnne (Lukens) Tuncy and her husband Donald of Millerton, New York. Kelsey graduated with the class of 1999 from Webutuck High School in Amenia and from BOCES in 1999 with a certificate from the CNA program as well. She was a longtime member of the Lakeville United Methodist Church in Lakeville. On Oct. 11, 2003, in Poughkeepsie, New York, she married James Horton. Jimmy survives at home in Lakeville. Kelsey loved camping every summer at Waubeeka Family Campground in Copake, and she volunteered as a cheer coach for A.R.C. Cheerleading for many years. Kelsey also enjoyed hiking and gardening in her spare time and spending time with her loving family and many dear friends.
In addition to her husband and parents, Kelsey is survived by her two beloved children, Hunter Horton and Aryanna Horton, both of Lakeville; a step-brother, Jason Tuncy of East Hartford, Connecticut; her mother-in-law, Frances “Fran” Horton and her brother-in-law, Benjamin D. Horton III and his wife Penny of Bloomsburg, Pennsylvania, and their son, Alec, and several aunts, uncles, cousins and many dear friends. She was predeceased by her father-in-law, Benjamin D. Horton, Jr. in 2017.
There are no calling hours. A Celebration of Life will take place on Saturday, Oct. 25, 2025, from 11 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. at the Millerton American Legion Post # 178, Route 44, Millerton, NY 12546. A time to celebrate Kelsey and share stories and memories. Memorial contributions may be made to The Jane Lloyd Fund. Please make checks payable to Berkshire Taconic Community Foundation (please note in memo line, The Jane Lloyd Fund) and mail to: Berkshire Taconic Community Foundation, 800 N. Main Street, Sheffield, MA 01257.
To send an online condolence to the family, flowers to the service or to plant a tree in Kelsey’s memory, please visit www.conklinfuneralhome.com
Arrangements have been entrusted to the Scott D. Conklin Funeral Home, 37 Park Avenue, Millerton, NY 12546.
SHARON — On Sept. 27, Eliot Warren Brown was shot and killed at age 47 at his home in New Orleans, Louisiana, in a random act of violence by a young man in need of mental health services. Eliot was born and raised in Sharon, Connecticut, and attended Indian Mountain School and Concord Academy in Massachusetts. He graduated from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago. He and his wife Brooke moved to New Orleans to answer the call for help in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina and fell in love with the city.
In addition to his wife Brooke, Eliot leaves behind his parents Malcolm and Louise Brown, his sisters Lucia (Thaddeus) and Carla (Ruairi), three nephews, and extended family and friends spread far and wide.
Normally at this point one might list some interests, but in Eliot’s case, it’s easier to list what he wasn’t interested in: watching sports.
Eliot made a living as a fine craftsman and carpenter, but at heart he was an artist. He was well versed in music, painting, literature, biking, travel, Mardi Gras costumes, poker, pranks, street performance and on and on and on.Having previously hiked the entire Camino de Santiago in Spain and Portugal, he recently achieved another dream of summiting the highest stratovolcano in North America.
Eliot’s creative ability was astounding. His creations were designed to bring joy to others. He didn’t seek recognition or praise, and a large part of his work was anonymous. Pieces of art would appear in the community, encouraging people to think, connect and enjoy.
From the precociously funny and determinedly defiant boy that grew up in the Northwest corner of Connecticut, Eliot grew into a brilliant, gentle souled, boundlessly creative, ever mischievous, perpetually scraggly, and astoundingly wise and caring man who made an indelible impact on those who were lucky to have him in their lives.
In honor of Eliot, please consider making donations to organizations that work to end gun violence, support the arts, or provide mental health services. A service will be held at the Congregational Church in Salisbury on Sunday Oct. 26 at 2 p.m.
SHARON — Randall “Randy” Osolin passed away on Sept. 25, 2025, at the age of 74. He was born on Feb. 6, 1951, in Sharon, Connecticut to the late Ramon (Sonny) and Barbara (Sandmeyer) Osolin.
He was a dedicated social worker, a natural athlete, a gentle friend of animals, an abiding parish verger, an inveterate reader, and an estimable friend and neighbor. He was a kind-hearted person whose greatest joy was in helping someone in need and sharing his time with his family and good friends.
He was the beloved husband of Karen LaChance Osolin; the loving brother of Bruce Osolin and the late Gail Osolin Leo; the devoted uncle of Kyle and Andrew Osolin and Taylor LaChance; the brother-in-law of Debra LaChance; and the cousin of Brenda Curran, Jay Pickering and Audra Salazar.
To honor Randy’s memory, do a good deed for another or send a donation to the Little Guild, 258 Sharon-Goshen Road, West Cornwall, CT 06796. The Kenny Funeral Home has care of arrangements.