POMONA – The moment the long-awaited guest walked into the gym at Pomona High Thursday morning the waiting students jumped to their feet cheering and clapping.

The rock star-caliber welcome was for Dolores Huerta, the woman who, along with the late Cesar Chavez, co-founded the United Farm Workers Union.

"This is a historical moment for Pomona High School," said Cati De Los Rios, Spanish and Chicano-Latino studies teacher, who introduced Huerta.

Students from Pomona High’s Chicano/Latino Studies class took a moment to recite a poem they wrote, chronicling Huerta’s work in civil rights and women’s rights.  

Pomona Unified Superintendent Thelma Melendez de Santa Ana said that even if she hadn’t been invited she would have sneaked in to listen to her hero.

"For the young people of my generation, she and Cesar Chavez brought us that same sense of hope our president brings us today," she said. "They stood up for basic civil rights when it was unpopular to do so."

When she stepped up to speak, Huerta drew more cheers while teens snapped pictures.

Huerta told the students there was a way to remember Chavez.

"The best way to honor him is to continue to do the work," she said, and by talking about the social and political concerns that need to be addressed.

She spoke about the need for young people to support President Barack Obama’s efforts to pass a budget that contains money for education, health care and green jobs.

"He needs that money because without it we’re not going to go forward," she said.

Young people may think they can’t help but they can, Huerta said.

"We can all do e-mail," she said, urging students to write to federal legislators asking them to support the president’s budget proposal.

Once the president takes care of the budget and other concerns, she said, he can focus on an immigration bill and the plight of working class people who are also undocumented.

She called on young women to prepare themselves and play a part in making major decisions.

Women must be among the decision-makers, she said.

"If a woman isn’t in the room where the decisions are made, this is what happens: (The men) make the wrong decision," she said.

Women must be prepared to take care of themselves as must men, and both genders must be prepared to work together, she said.

"We have to be strong partners, women and men together."

Before visiting Pomona High, Huerta attended the fourth annual Cesar Chavez Breakfast at El Molcajete Restaurant on East Holt Avenue. The breakfast, organized by the Latino and Latina Roundtable of Pomona Valley and San Gabriel Valley and the Labor Council for Latin American Advancement, honored Rep. Joe Baca, D-San Bernardino; the Rev. Patricio Guillen, executive director of Libreria del Pueblo in Ontario; and the Pomona Habla/Pomona Speaks coalition.

Each received recognition for their work carrying on Chavez’s legacy.

The excitement among students was palpable as they awaited Huerta’s arrival.

Tanya Franco, a senior, said Huerta’s been a courageous woman who faced many challenges and never backed down.

"She was woman enough and strong enough to overcome those obstacles," Franco said..

Senior Jairo Sotelo said having Huerta visit the school was inspiring and showed youth have a role to play on many fronts.

"It shows us how there is so much to work for us," he said. "We can still move forward and advance."

monica.rodriguez@inlandnewspapers.com, (909) 483-9336