Fresno activist Alfonso Hernandez championed farm workers, students and Latino rights

It was with genuine sorrow that the Chavez family and the farm worker movement learned of the death from a heart attack on Jan. 6 of dedicated social activist Alfonso Hernandez, 64, who labored over four decades to advance the rights of farm workers, students and the Latino community in his native Fresno.

Cesar Chavez and the farm workers were privileged to be among the good causes Alfonso championed. He and his entire family toiled in farm labor. So Alfonso was intensely involved on the picket lines and in the streets during the bitter, protracted and sometimes bloody farm worker strikes that hit the Fresno County region during the 1970s. He helped organize annual Cesar Chavez commemoration marches in Fresno and worked to name a major street after Cesar in the city of Fresno.

Like Cesar, Alfonso also selflessly committed himself to remedying the injustices farm workers and other Latino working families faced in their home communities. He was a pioneering activist in the Chicano movement, playing vital roles in organizing dozens of chapters of the Latino student organization MEChA plus numerous local protests by students. His work in founding and building the Chicano Youth Center, perhaps his greatest legacy, offered countless young people in Fresno leadership, opportunities and hope for the future.

Cesar used to distinguish between those who are of service and those who are servants. Many decent men and women engage in daily acts of altruism or charity. But a relative few become servants, totally dedicating themselves to the most needy in society. By that definition, Alfonso Hernandez was a genuine servant. 

Services for Alfonso Hernandez are set for Thursday, Jan. 15 at Lisle Funeral Home, with viewing at 10 a.m. and Rosary at 7 p.m. A Mass will be held at 10 a.m. on Friday, Jan. 16, at Our Lady of Mount Carmel Catholic Church, 816 Pottle Ave, Fresno 93706. For more, see:http://www.fresnobee.com/2015/01/07/4319394/alfonso-hernandez-chicano-youth.html