Out the Archives is a recurring feature diving into the Windy City Times collection, offering a look back at the rich history of LGBTQ+ Chicago. In this edition, we look back at the November 1998 issue of En La Vida.
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From Oct. 8-11 in 1998, hundreds of LGBTQ+ Latinos gathered at the sixth LLEGO conference—Accion, Orgullo, y Poder—to discuss prominent issues in the community.
Keynote speaker civil rights legend Dolores Huerta took to the stage to talk about her long-term commitment to civil rights issues and the fire that kept her going. That figurative fire spread to the crowd, as well, as she ended the speech with cheers in the style of a farmworker rally.
Beginning with her stories from the ‘70s, she spoke about how she testified of her own volition at a legislative hearing on gay rights. She firmly repeated her testimony—“I’m a Catholic woman and I believe in gay and lesbian rights.”
In 1998, one of Huerta’s daughters was a teacher who was also involved in a campaign to bring gay-friendly materials to the classroom. Huerta also encouraged the audience to try making a difference of their own through running for elected positions and even encouraged those with the ambition to stand up in the room.
“We should all think of running for political office,” she said. “If you think you can’t do it, think of Newt Gringich.”
Huerta was also working towards economic and social justice for farmworkers. She firmly believed those who feed the country should be the best paid and treated in the country.
She emphasized that unfortunately many problems they faced decades ago were still rampant—worker safety and attention to basic needs. She told the story of how her cousin died not from his HIV status, but from contaminated fruit that wasn’t labeled to disclose the pesticides used.
She said the issue is still “changing the racist mentality of farm growers,” and that those in the crowd should support unionization because it promotes workers coming together to push for a better life for themselves and their families.
After the cheers praising the memory of the departed, including Cesar Chavez and lesbian activist Marsha Gomez, Huerta led the crowd in chants denouncing racism and homophobia.
Today, at 95-years-old, Huerta is still actively speaking out in the community.
