2008 Woodie Awards
Vote Absentee
Latina addresses philanthropy
President of California organization speaks about social change
Liz Miller
Issue date: 12/10/07 Section: News
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Recalling her experiences as a minority who faced discrimination, Antonia Hernández spoke about the importance of generating social change in America in her lecture Friday titled, "Latinos, Philanthropy and Civic Engagement."
"If you're really a Catholic, you should be a revolutionary," Hernández said.
Hernández is currently the president and CEO of the California Community Foundation, a $670 million foundation that is one of the largest and most active philanthropic organizations in Southern California. In her lecture, Hernández shared her personal story and beliefs as a Latina woman.
Born in Mexico and raised in East Los Angeles, Hernández called herself a, "product of public education." Though neither of her parents spoke English, they pushed Hernández and her six younger siblings to earn college degrees.
While she initially hoped to continue her academic career and become a historian, an incident at Theodore Roosevelt High School in 1968, where she worked, changed her mind.
At that time, thousands of students walked out of schools and marched for an improvement in Latino Civil Rights. Many of the students that she worked with were put in jail, Hernández said.
Hernández had found her calling.
"I went to law school for one purpose and one purpose only - to use the law as a tool to be an agent of change to improve the quality of life for my society," she said.
She ignored the criticism she received from her family members over her decision. Her uncle told her, "You're a girl, and you'll cry when you go to court."
"The only one who ever cried was my uncle when he needed my help," she said
As a young lawyer, Hernández was invited by a friend to apply for counsel to the United States Senate Committee on the Judiciary.
"I didn't know that this is one of the most coveted positions from the legal perspective in the U.S.," Hernández said.
"If you're really a Catholic, you should be a revolutionary," Hernández said.
Hernández is currently the president and CEO of the California Community Foundation, a $670 million foundation that is one of the largest and most active philanthropic organizations in Southern California. In her lecture, Hernández shared her personal story and beliefs as a Latina woman.
Born in Mexico and raised in East Los Angeles, Hernández called herself a, "product of public education." Though neither of her parents spoke English, they pushed Hernández and her six younger siblings to earn college degrees.
While she initially hoped to continue her academic career and become a historian, an incident at Theodore Roosevelt High School in 1968, where she worked, changed her mind.
At that time, thousands of students walked out of schools and marched for an improvement in Latino Civil Rights. Many of the students that she worked with were put in jail, Hernández said.
Hernández had found her calling.
"I went to law school for one purpose and one purpose only - to use the law as a tool to be an agent of change to improve the quality of life for my society," she said.
She ignored the criticism she received from her family members over her decision. Her uncle told her, "You're a girl, and you'll cry when you go to court."
"The only one who ever cried was my uncle when he needed my help," she said
As a young lawyer, Hernández was invited by a friend to apply for counsel to the United States Senate Committee on the Judiciary.
"I didn't know that this is one of the most coveted positions from the legal perspective in the U.S.," Hernández said.