Assemblymember Salas (D – Bakersfield) joined Dolores Huerta and other local leaders to celebrate the $15 million in funding secured by Salas in the 2021-2022 state budget.

The funding will go towards the establishment of the Dolores Huerta Peace and Justice Cultural Center that will be built in downtown Bakersfield at 22 and H streets. The Peace and Justice Cultural Center will contain a child development facility, art gallery, and outdoor amphitheater.

Additionally, the center will host early education preschool services, equitable education opportunities to address illiteracy rates, civic leadership development, meeting and gathering spaces for the community, and a cultural museum to honor the historical contributions of leaders in the San Joaquin Valley.

“This is an investment in our community,” Salas said on Wednesday. “This is an investment that’s saying, here in the central valley we care about you, we care about people like Dolores, we care about everyone that grows up here, and we care about your future.”

The center will be a multicultural community center complex, which will help draw tourists and revitalize small businesses in the area.

Dolores Huerta, co-founder of the United Farm Workers Association, is known for her leadership and involvement as a civil rights activist. Huerta has won numerous awards for her community service and advocacy for workers’, immigrants’, and women’s rights.

“Dolores Huerta is the picture, the model practitioner of the values that we share as Americans,” said Kern County Supervisor Leticia Perez. “It’s an opportunity to highlight the many assets that Kern County has and what we bring to the table.”

Though there is no set date on a ground-breaking, the project has employed local workers such as Southwest Carpenters Local 661 to help build the center.