Civil Rights Icon Dolores Huerta to Receive 2025 HPRA President's Award for Lifelong Advocacy
The Hispanic Public Relations Association will honor 95-year-old civil rights leader Dolores Huerta with its 2025 President's Award, recognizing her enduring commitment to immigrant rights and social justice amid current political challenges facing Latino communities.
The Hispanic Public Relations Association (HPRA) announced that civil rights icon Dolores Huerta will receive the 2025 President's Award at the upcoming ¡BRAVO! Awards Gala. The award recognizes Huerta's transformative work and enduring advocacy at a time when Latino communities face significant challenges, making her selection particularly meaningful for communications professionals navigating complex social landscapes.
HPRA President Sonia V. Diaz emphasized the timeliness of honoring Huerta, stating, "We are living in a moment when Latino communities are being scapegoated, detained, and stripped of dignity. In times like these, our role as communicators is not to bend or soften the message—it's to name injustice, amplify truth, and stand steady in defense of our people." This year's ¡BRAVO! Awards theme, "Rooted in Purpose," specifically honors those who remain grounded in community and principle despite external pressures.
At 95 years old, Huerta continues her activist work with remarkable energy. In 2025 alone, she participated in mass protests against federal immigration raids in Los Angeles, condemned the arrest of labor leader David Huerta, and co-signed a petition to the United Nations calling for a human rights investigation. Through her Dolores Huerta Foundation, she advises immigrant communities, leads resistance against private detention centers, and supports civic engagement initiatives. The Foundation recently broke ground on a new Peace and Justice Cultural Center in Kern County, California.
Huerta's legacy includes co-founding the United Farm Workers in 1962, where she helped secure collective bargaining rights for farmworkers, banned dangerous pesticides, and advanced gender and racial equity. She famously coined the phrase "Sí, se puede"—"Yes, we can"—which has become a rallying cry for justice movements across generations. Diaz noted that Huerta's approach to direct engagement demonstrates how "face to face, voice to voice" communication can mobilize action and create meaningful change.
The President's Award represents a singular honor selected annually by the HPRA President to recognize leaders who have transformed lives and shaped the cultural narrative of Latinos in the United States. The 2025 ¡BRAVO! Awards will also honor several other leaders including Pioneer of the Year Karina Martinez, co-founder of DRAFTED; Diversity, Equity & Inclusion Champion Adrianne C. Smith, founder of Cannes Can: Diversity Collective; and Journalist of the Year Julio (Julito) Ricardo Varela. The awards ceremony will take place on November 13, 2025, at The Drake Hotel in Chicago. More information about HPRA's mission and programs is available at https://www.hpra-usa.org.