Professors Pérez and Johnson Remember Dolores Huerta

Professor Amagda Pérez and Professor Emeritus Kevin R. Johnson were quoted in an Oct. 30 UC Davis News article, "UC Davis Community Remembers Dolores Huerta."

After Huerta's death on Oct. 28, Pérez recalled when she first met Huerta as an undergrad at UC Davis and how it influenced her career of advocacy. Pérez now is the co-director of the Immigration Law Clinic and executive director of the California Rural Legal Assistance Foundation, which, among other work, provides free legal services for farmworkers. 

“Through Dolores’ perspective, I saw and felt my own power, connected to the power of my community, to bring about the changes we knew we needed to address the injustices we lived,” Pérez told UC Davis News. “Being with Dolores always inspired a recognition that we are best and most impactful when we are part of something bigger than ourselves.” 

Johnson served with Huerta on the advisory board for the current exhibition at the California Museum, "Help Wanted/Leave Now: 'Operation Wetback' and the Revolving Door of Mass Deportation." In the story, Johnson reflects that Huerta was a "perfect role model" and that "she lived a life of trying to achieve justice for farmworkers, one of the most marginalized groups in U.S. society. Her activism came at a cost, and she made many sacrifices as she established the United Farm Workers and led it through many struggles.”

Read the full UC Davis News story.

A daughter of farmworkers, Pérez graduated from UC Davis Law in 1991 and joined the faculty in 1994. She is a leading advocate for California’s immigrant, farmworker, and low-income communities.

Kevin R. Johnson is a distinguished professor of law and Chicanx Studies emeritus and director of the Aoki Center. He is the former Mabie/Apallas Professor of Public Interest Law and he served as dean of UC Davis Law from 2008 to 2024. Johnson is an internationally recognized scholar in the fields of immigration law and policy, refugee law and civil rights.