Listening To Dolores Huerta And Gail McDougle In Salem

Gail McDougle, pastor of Salem's United Church of Christ, received the Annual Salem Peace Lecture award and recognition for her outstanding work for peace and justice in our community this evening. The event was held at Willamette University and featured a presentation by Dolores Huerta, most often associated with farmworker organizing. Dolores Huerta delivered the 2009 Peace Lecture after Reverend McDougal received her recognition.

Reverend McDougle was one of the founders of both the Salem Interfaith Hospitality Network (1999) and Congregations Helping people (2005). She has also served on the board of Habitat for Humanity (2008-2009) and she is president of the board of directors of the Willamette Family Medical Center. All of these efforts have made a great and positive difference in our community.

Reverend McDougle's church has opened its doors to a number of needed efforts. It has become a center for the immigrant community and for Jobs with Justice. In her remarks this evening--more of a homily, really--Reverend McDougle pulled themes and inspiration from her own life and experience, placed them in a biblical context and gave them relevant political meaning. Her focus was on the biblical vision of justice and how we live that out today, but her remarks were purposefully broad enough to include everyone present, believer or not. We always get the feeling when we are in her presence that Reverend McDougle is a special and knowing person, driven by her intelligence and instincts. The crowd responded to her with a standing ovation. A special presentation of roses from Causa to Reverend McDougle expressed the community's appreciation for her work.

Dolores Huerta spoke from notes about current and topical issues and focused her remarks on inspiring people to do more for social justice and attacking the right. She tied together feminism, gay rights, immigrant rights, the work of the peace and antiwar movements, labor organizing and other struggles. It's hard to believe, but Dolores Huerta will turn 80 next year. She wants us to organize parties for her foundation then, which funds community organizing and training in immigrant communities.

Sister Huerta could have focused her talk on history or on herself or on a particular program. All of that would have been fine and interesting, but she spoke instead about current events and theory in a way which engaged people. When Ramon Ramirez introduced Sister Huerta he spoke of the past but also brought the past into the present with his remarks. Both of them mentioned the Obama administration in passing, but their messages were clear: it's up to us to put the pressure on to win immigration reform and more. These things are within reach if we organize.

Many of the young people present clearly wanted to know more. They are asking how to organize, what positions to take and how to move forward. Sister Huerta did not have the time to give a class in organizing, which she could certainly present, but she told the young people to engage people with fun efforts and small tasks first and to build from an activist minority. Sister Huerta prizes education, community and organizing.

If there was a weakness to the evening it was that there was not enough time to have the needed discussions and teaching from the speakers, the weakness on the left of not talking about and prioritizing building an independent left political party or a united left force and the tendency of so many people on the left to take a microphone and preach instead of engaging in dialogue. The young teacher from McMinnville and the young women activists who presented questions about teaching and organizing should have had more time on the agenda. Change will come in this country when those people can carry on the traditions that Sister Huerta so capably embodies.