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This is Irene Ruiz. Interviewing Mr. Asuncion Hernandez. At Penn Valley Community College on December 22, 1977, Mr. Hernandez is a government employee. This is tape 18A. Mr. Hernandez, I would like for you to tell me about. Where you were born and when you were born. OK,

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I was, uh, born in uh. Topeka, Kansas, uh, in on May 26, 1938. And uh Topeka is of course the capital of Kansas. I was uh born in what is called the, the neutral section of town. Which is an integrated. Barrio that is uh close to

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the Santa Fe shops. by integrated you mean that there were a variety of people at that time there was a viable uh Mexican community. There were blacks and there were whites as opposed to, uh, the The Oakland barrio, which is, uh, predominantly uh Mexican American, it

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was on the other side of the tracks. Yeah, you have to know that the geographic district is to know that there were 3 rodeos in in Topeka, Kansas, and we were sandwiched in between two predominantly, uh, Spanish speaking rios. You're talking about 3. Mexican American communities

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just to make that distinction alright would you tell me, uh, something about your parents, their names and uh. How large a family My brothers and sisters. Sure, um, Uh, both of my parents, uh, migrated to the United States from, uh, Mexico. My mother was born in

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Monterreyno, Boon. And uh uh my father was born in uh. Leon Guanajuato. He was a he was a shoemaker by professions by trade. All right, can you, uh, give me a little description of the neighborhood as you recall it, since you obviously spent a number of

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years there, I'm sure that there's much that you remember about it. Well, the, the neighborhood itself, while it was, uh, integrated, it was a very viable. Mexican. Being that you had uh. The the. The curandero, the curandera, the the people the The the corner grocery store

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that gave a credit, you know, a Mexican style credit. In other words, the community was in a, in a sense something like a big family. Where people were very close to each other. That type of thing? It Uh, our neighborhood and the two other, uh, barrios

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in Topeka was kind of like the traditional, uh, Uh, Mexican barrio that uh grew up alongside the railroad tracks in terms of the birth of of uh of Mexican American community in the United States, uh, uh. The families, the railroads of other areas, other places of

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that type of families living along the railroad. That's what you're saying, right? OK, uh, how did your parents earn a living since your father was a shoemaker by trade or profession? Did he work at this or did he work for the railroad? OK, uh, in, uh,

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in Leon, uh, Guanajuato, he was a craftsman. He made shoes and when he came to the United States in the late teens, early twenties. Yeah, it was, he came back and forth, but, uh, he came. You mean he crossed the border, went to Mexico and came

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back several times? He came back several times, yes, but, but, um. But. With the intention of, of living here or you mean he kept going back because he did not mean to stay here? It was just maybe twice. Let let's just say that he came back

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and forth, but, uh, in the 1919, for instance, um, when he came over here, he came, uh, a contractor. For, um, first of all, uh, well, the first time he came, he, he followed the little betavel, OK, and then the second beat crops, the beet crops,

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OK, uh, the second time he, uh, he came, uh, he he was contracted with the, the Santa Fe shops as a laborer, uh, maintaining the, the railroad, and, uh, eventually. He worked, he worked his way up, in other words, from the railroad section to a labor's

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position in the Santa Fe shops that was, uh, located in Topeka. I think like most uh contracted laborers they they uh would follow. The railroad line, like every, every 20 miles there was a, a maintenance, uh, a boxcar community. And uh but uh when he uh

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went from the, from the railroad section, he uh he became a laborer in the Santa Fe shop. And then from there he worked his way up to become a uh a freight car bodybuilder of what is known as uh in the classification as a carman. But

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what he did was, uh, he was a mechanic. So he worked himself up from that's doing laborers work and he went on to some higher while his formal education was uh like a grade school education in Mexico, he, uh, he was a self-made in terms of

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going through. Corresponding courses that were offered from time to time and that's how he went into mechanics. Very well and your mother, I imagine was a homemaker. In other words, she devoted her time to working at home and rearing the family, right? She was a homemaker

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and she. Mhm. So how many, uh, children were there including you? Yeah. Uh, 3 brothers, no, 3 sisters and 6 brothers. So you were one of 9 children. And did you attend school there in Topeka or around the area or did you move? The first year

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was the first year was in a public school, and then the, the majority of my from grade 1 through grade 8 was in the Catholic parochial school that was, uh, I, I want to say segregated. It was all, uh, Mexican American, OK. They were all Mexicanos,

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boys and girls, boys and girls. So this is our Lady Guado the grade school in and then from there, uh, uh, all the grade schools would feed into. The Catholic schools, uh, the one Catholic, uh, high school in particular which was Hayden High. And I graduated

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from there in Hayden Hayden, yes, graduated from there in 1956. 26 did you go then directly from high school to college or did this come about later? Well, this came about because like uh uh we didn't get that much push to go to college. I think

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that in terms of uh the parents like the counsel that they gave us is to Make something of yourself, be educated, but they weren't able to give us, they expected you very likely to work and help the family financially or just help yourself because they couldn't

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afford to. To give you psychologist. Yes, like, for instance, the first, uh, the first, uh, the first, uh, suggestion I would, uh, the first expectation and, uh, Uh, the expectation was for, uh, for me to, uh, to go to the Santa Fe shops and to, uh.

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Uh, put in my application for an apprenticeship, uh, into, uh. The mechanic system at the. Uh, Sane. Well, did they expect you to do this after you finished high school? Or were you, were you supposed to be doing this while you were, I mean, still in

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school, then. Well, this was the expectation that after high school, you would be able to apply for workers. Unfortunately. You were looking forward to. Unfortunately, they weren't hiring at the time. Um. And, uh, I, uh, went into the Marine Corps, into the service, armed service for

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two years, and it was upon, uh. In '56 you entered the service. Yes. And then you were gone for two years. Yes, and then upon return, is when I, I found a a high school friend that was going to college. He invited me to go to

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the college and that's where I started. College education. In the meantime, uh, prior to this, uh, as you were growing up, was your family or you were you members, you said Guadalupe Parochial school, so I assume you belonged to the church too in your family, right?

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Practicing Catholic. OK, so did the, did the church, what I'm getting at is that uh the church then furnish. Different types of activities for the adults as well as the young people or the young children. The church in Topeka is a, it's a very distinctive kind

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of a Mexican-American community in that, uh, uh, the Catholic Church and the school. Has always provided kind of a a place where uh the Mexican American community can unite in terms of uh all types of activities, everything from uh for the older people the the guadallupanas

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church related and then they have the bear societies and then in other words they had organizations for men and then for women as well as the, the Holy Name Society and then the Saint Vincent de Paul that that would help them in in kind of social

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activity. Uh, helping my, uh, others, uh, achievement. Well, did, were you specifically then in some one or two of those organizations, and some were for adults, but I'm sure some applied to the youngsters. No? No, my, my main activity was with, uh, the churches, uh, with,

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uh, either paying the, basketball or um. Well, they had, did they have facilities? Did they have certain like playgrounds or equipment? Did they furnish did the church furnish this? They, they had a, a limited amount. They had a small church hall with a, with a gymnasium

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where the grade school uh team that would have their regular practice, but it also served as a A, a meeting place where they had the, the, the weekly jamaica or the monthly jamaica. Like a, kind of a church bazaar affair. Yes. Something. That was a weekly

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thing. Well, it, sometimes it was weekly, sometimes, well, it, it, it varied. It, it, it varied in terms of time. It was sometimes on a weekly basis, sometimes, uh, it changed a month depending in the winter. Did you have a hobby as a child or as

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an adolescent? Just sports. Well, reading or could have been sports, could have been, could have been dances. Now this is even predated television and the hobbies were just playing in the neighborhood. We used to make our own. And we had our own peer groups on the

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street and nothing organized. OK. Do you remember any major events that had some big effect on the community and you, I'm thinking, well, I'm trying to remember that you grew up in the, I guess it would have been the 40s. So when the war, for instance,

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World War Two, do you remember how it affected your own immediate family or? Well, you know, without, without a doubt, you know, I, I think there was, uh, you know, uh, I think when, uh, World War II was declared that I have a, a little vague

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memory of seeing the parades over, uh, there was a parade from downtown all the way down to the Santa Fe station which is right there in the neighborhood. Uh, everybody saw the, their, uh, their loved ones getting in the troop trains and off to the, the

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training grounds to get ready to, uh, bases in the country that they were trained. That was part of one of the things I could remember. The second kind of a, of a milestone in terms of the was the natural disaster in terms of the. The, the

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Kansas River flood in 1951. 0, yes, I was coming to that too. OK, then we will move on to that. Then you were where you were still there in Topeka then. OK, yes, we were living right there in the, in the, Brama Street around this is

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the neutral. OK. And then was there something that the flood, I mean, affected you directly, in other words, your family, it, it affected us in that, um, uh, we had to evacuate, we had to evacuate, uh. Homes. But you were warned in plenty of time so

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that at least maybe your property or your belongings were damaged, but to say the loss of life was kept to a minimum. Yes, it was. Is that correct? I think the main flooding occurred in the in the north to people. Which is, uh, was another neighborhood

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across the road, but there was, there was extensive, uh, damage to basements and on the first floor. So were you, were you, was, I mean, was your family, you and other members of your family able to move back shortly after, after the, the structure was still

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standing, but it didn't disperse our family. All right, um. Then, uh, you were in the service. Were you outside of the stationed outside of the United States or the service activity was a peacetime activity and it was uh outside of one. Fuel fuel problem out of

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out of uh out in the ocean at the at the it was all in. All right, you said when you returned from the service, you had a friend who invited you to. Visited him? Was he already in college, and would you say maybe this was a

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turning point or at least uh the fact that he invited you or maybe. Encouraged to enter college because of this person, would you say or how would you elaborate on that? OK, um, the fact of the matter is that, um, sports played a significant part in

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my life and that was one way that I was able to maintain. Myself through high school and when I came back, I found that uh. Teammates was playing football in college and and he invited me to go play football at the at the college um at

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the College and I made the travel team and again it was sports that that uh In other words, you could participate at the Washburn College, although you were not actually a student, is that what you're saying? No, I know, I was, uh, you have to, you

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have to be a student. You have to be right, and that's, but in other words, sports was the thing that actually enticed you. That's right, to, to go to college. There wasn't a college counselor who said, hey, you should go to college to see. No. But

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they would take you under that basis because you, you, you could compete or you could play or whatever. Well, uh, I had to pay tuition and get into Salary. OK. Yes, but, but still, this was a means. It was a, yes, it was, uh, an attraction.

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An attraction, right. And then, OK. The end result was that, uh, that, uh, I, I, uh, stayed in college. For the 4 years. And, well, it took me 5 years to get through undergraduate school because at one point, uh, I dropped out. Well, and then, uh,

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economically with your family, or was this, uh, who else helped you, or was it through sports again, or was it because you had been in the service and you were able to get some of the tuition paid thinking of that, uh, I had to work my

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way through college. I, uh, I had a full-time job. Oh, you had a full-time job and then you were also attending classes. Did you work at night? Yes, I worked from 3 to 11 shift. Doing what? Uh, at the Minegar Foundation as a childcare worker. And

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uh just working in in a uh people oriented uh setting is what uh kind of uh solidified the the kind of innate. Desire to, to do social work. To social and maybe this was the beginning of what now you are trying to do where you became

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really interested in helping people. Is that it? That's right. OK, then what, what uh happened after you? Finished college about what year was this in 1960 something. OK, let's see, I came back from the service in 1958 and I went to college and I received my

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degree, my undergraduate degree in 1963. Yeah. What kind of degree bachelor's was a bachelor's of education. It was a BE, a bachelor's music education, and, uh, at that particular point, uh, I, I started teaching and I went from a childcare worker to a teacher in uh

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at the Southern School Mineral Foundation, and I was working with, uh, emotionally disturbed children. From grade 1 to grade 8. And uh it was while I was working at this particular uh institution at this hospital that um. Uh, came in daily contact with, uh, uh, different,

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uh, professionals in. He feel There was a couple of, uh, well, there was one, black social worker that encouraged me to, uh, to apply to schools of social work for a graduate degree, a graduate degree in social work. That's right. And what I, uh, did was

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I applied at about 4 different, uh, 4 or 5 different schools throughout the United States. The one that accepted me Uh, or the one where I finally, uh, went to was uh the University of Southern California, which is located in Los Angeles. And uh I had

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previous knowledge of that particular institution and that it uh it had a reputation for being a good good for school, which is one of the things that I was interested in that time it was 1960. Well, by that time, uh, let's see, uh, I applied, I

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went off to, uh, to graduate school in 1965, and it was a two year program. I graduated in 1967 with a master's in social work. And then I had to uh work off what. Uh, a stipend, state stipends you have to, uh. I work for an

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institution and I. Uh, my first uh professional work as this in the field of social work was as a psychiatric social work, social worker at the, uh, Norwalk, California at the Metropolitan State Hospital. And I stayed there about uh almost 2 years and then I went

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to work in a. In the, uh, educational training program. In the East LA East Los Angeles. And uh this was working with the college students, helping them uh work their way through college. All right. Also, uh, I know for a fact that you've been involved in

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certain clubs and organizations. Where along the way was it while you were there or before that that you became interested, say, in the LULACs or whatever other club where along the way did you develop that interest? My interest in LULAC, uh, actually the first time I

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had ever heard of it was when I was in the service in 1957. And at that particular time my brother uh uh Val Hernandez. My oldest brother. Who lived in Chicago was very active. He was a national organizer, uh, for the League of League of United

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Latin American Citizens. We always refer to it as LULAC, but for the record, OK, so he, uh, he invited me to a national convention. In California back in 1957, that's when I received my initial uh. Contact the introduction to LULAC. And uh it was probably, uh,

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in 1967. When I was back in, in California again that uh. I, uh, was invited to join a, uh, LULAC. Tonsil. While I was uh working at the at the Metropolitan State Hospital in Norwalk, and I think that I spent two years with that particular organization.

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And um. No, it was a little bit more than maybe uh 4 years, but it was about this time that I came back in 1970. I came back to Topeka, Kansas City. Oh, Kansas City City and uh to work with the federal government over here for

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HEW. That was the beginning of your government employment. And it was at that particular time that Well, I picked up a lot of information about LULAC, uh, how the organization worked and the type of activities that, uh, it sponsored that when I came to Kansas, I

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felt that that that type of organization was needed here in Kansas, and, uh, at that particular point, uh. Proceeded to try to organize a chapter here in Kansas City, uh, Kansas. It's just because you, you know that one of your areas of interest is education. Were

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you interested in that particular role in general? I think I was more concerned about while the, uh, the focus of LULAC was uh educational achievement for, uh. For the, for the Mexican American. I think that my, my concern was overall, uh, community development, uh, you know,

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access to all kinds of community activities via the LULAC organization. And have you been active then with uh some other club or organization that Who you know which. Aims or the aims of the organization are to help. Yes, well, I think that at the same time

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that I was involved in LULA, I also was a member of the National Association for Social Workers and um a group called Trabajadores de la Baza which is a, a group of of professional. Chicano Social workers. All right, now where was that based or where is

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that particular organization was a national organization and it started in San Jose, California, and with chapters throughout the country or throughout certain parts, particularly it was particularly started in uh in California and uh when I became acquainted with it, other words, we started. A chapter there

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in Los Angeles. I was a charter member of the Los Angeles chapter of Lavado de la Baza and then eventually it it went into Texas and and spread throughout the United States where there's a Chicano professional social worker. So are you still involved with that now

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indirectly? I, I have, uh, I still have my connections with the, with the social workers, but there is no. Lavajadores de lavaza chapter here in Kansas City. At one time at KU there was a semblance of student and a few professional social workers, but that's only

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to point out that in the Midwest. Not too many uh Mexican-Americans have gone into the field of social work. OK, are you also involved with another group or another professional or strictly civic? Uh, it's right now it's, uh, it's been, uh, it's been LULAC, uh. And

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uh yes, and then a little bit with the When I first came here to work for the federal government, we, uh, I was active in uh The beginning of the. Of image along with a nucleus of uh of Chicano federal employees, how would you, um, explain

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that image stands for images, um, the incorporated Mexican American, um, government employees and now it's, it's, uh, it's kind of, um, is extended. It's again it's changing with time they're calling it Hispanic, uh, they're using that word, uh, the word Hispanic is all encompassing, so encompassing.

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Every Spanish speaking person, but is it still limited to government employees? Uh, well, uh, that's the focus of the organization, government employees at both at the city, county, and the federal level and also the city for that matter. So in other words this again we said

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was national and it does have chapters throughout the. And, uh. Are you still active with, I'm a new member, yes. Image. Yes. And, uh, incidentally, uh, OK, let's move on to the point now. I, I was just gonna say that the image at, at this particular

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juncture is, is, is starting to make its, um, it's membership, it's, uh. Its presence felt in terms of uh moving into infiltrating the the the committees and the federal committees at at the at the regional level. All right, um, Excuse me. So if you, if you

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wish, what you so desire, tell me something about your family when you were married and your wife and children. Part of of a of a community activity. It was also part of the. I don't want to separate community, but uh I was uh. A social planner

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for the Chicano the National Chicano Social Planning Council. We were able to get Uh, a field office established here in Kansas City, but it was a national project for. That was in operation for 2 full years. And during the one year that I worked with him

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I was uh. I able to um. To uh develop. Social programs for the Mexican-American community. In terms of developing uh new agencies and training administrators. And showing again this would be a a a project that would be working you say on a national level. Yes, and

00:27:48.469 - 00:28:08.760

this was kind of connected a little bit with lavadosla Raza but also um a uh A federally funded program that has an impact uh in the four-state area in terms of making social services accessible to uh to the Chicano community. And I think that this is

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part of the the professional uh career that I had here that I. I didn't, uh, Mentioned this previous time. Uh, now you, uh, you wanted a question about the marriage. I was just asking about your family? Married in Topeka, Kansas, uh, to, uh, a Mexican-American. All

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kinds of people. 4 children. Two boys and two girls. And Everything starting to get some of the benefits of uh of growing up in terms of helping. We find the courage a little bit there. OK. I know that as we were talking you have mentioned. You

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did. Maybe not necessarily by name but at least per per a person or persons that have been dominant factors in your in your life or have influenced you like the person you said invited you to the college and then you mentioned another black person that Oh

00:29:39.569 - 00:29:59.310

Suggested you apply for. Social worker on a graduate level. So as you look back and you think specifically. Of others or maybe you would like to say something else about that those persons that have maybe even going further back, of course I'm certain that your parents

00:29:59.310 - 00:30:17.089

indirectly or directly one way or another or some other member or friend if there was another significant person that uh that probably had a lot to do with helping me achieve it was the football coach at Hayden in terms of preventing another uh Mexican American dropout

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statistic. He was instrumental in that that sense of the way that um that uh. He, he provided some assistance. It was needed just to get through high school. But uh aside from that I guess with uh any Mexican American. I think probably the most influential or

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with any, uh, almost any, any person, uh, without a doubt the, the most influential, uh, people in my life. Father and my mother simply because uh they had some uh some directions that they provided not only me but the rest of my My family. One that

00:30:58.180 - 00:31:16.859

the council, for instance, my father had some idea of what he wanted me to be and. You guided me in that direction. My mother Also reinforced uh his wishes in terms of uh knowing that education was a way to survive in this country. And while she

00:31:16.859 - 00:31:39.310

said that I want you to be a a contractor. Because contractors make money, she wasn't able to, to really say become a a uh building contractor or a. Uh, electrical contractor or or whatever, but she still she was looking ahead and directing you or guiding you

00:31:39.310 - 00:31:59.810

towards planned, yes, she planted very much the idea of the importance of education and then uh Of course my father provided the structure for making sure that uh that uh there was uh that we would hit the books at one point. But uh. A very significant

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part of it. Of my life and one that will always be with me. All right. I would also like to know of something of your I know that you. Feel that maybe you haven't achieved very much or maybe you have, maybe there's much more that you

00:32:19.550 - 00:32:43.260

want to do, but are there any honors or achievements that you feel you have? Maybe Probably uh uh if he wants uh to talk in terms of uh achievement, the idea that uh you know uh. OK When a a Mexican American, you know, survives the educational

00:32:43.260 - 00:33:02.260

system, that in itself is an achievement, OK? But more than that, I think that if there's any accomplishment that uh. That, uh, that I, that I really see as one of the, that I've enjoyed was one of the, Of, uh, helping, uh, My people achieve. Uh,

00:33:02.810 - 00:33:26.280

some, uh Somehow it goes through. Uh, that, that one position when I was with the Chicano Planning Council and probably the highlight of, of, of something that was born. In that particular job was that um in. Topeka. In the state of Kansas, uh. The LULAC members

00:33:26.280 - 00:33:46.560

and, uh, With some uh technical assistance that I provided, we developed a uh an institute for Mexican American community workers in the field of aging where we helped community workers get oriented towards the field of aging. And uh uh we developed a statewide model for uh.

00:33:47.869 - 00:34:11.439

Improving services to the elderly. We use that one state model. And we were able to develop a. The, uh, Proposal that was funded. Which resulted in a the first national conference for the Spanish speaking elderly and uh what we did there was we brought A lot

00:34:11.439 - 00:34:40.510

of consultants together that were involved in work with the elderly or that had something to contribute in terms of uh of uh A strategy for improving services to the Spanish people who were in higher positions in an area that perhaps had not been. Yeah, maybe had

00:34:40.510 - 00:34:55.729

not been even, uh, considered, uh, or that had been looked upon as, as a group that needed something. What we did was we, we broke new ground and it happened here in Kansas City, Missouri, and it, and it was something that was done by a, a

00:34:55.729 - 00:35:14.239

nucleus of, uh, of people from Kansas and Missouri. Yes, as a matter of fact, uh, Francisco is a very, uh, uh, an integral part of this in terms of, uh, Of, uh, trying to get. This, this conference to take place in Kansas City, Missouri because there

00:35:14.239 - 00:35:32.159

were other cities that were bidding about two years ago this was in 1973. Well, the planning started in 1973. The conference was in the. Uh, the planning was in '74 and the conference was in '75. Have any other national conferences followed or or conferences that have

00:35:32.159 - 00:35:55.560

directed their attention to the elderly Spanish speaking since then? Uh, there has been a regional one and, and there was one national one just recently this year, but I think what What was important about uh that particular accomplishment was that it was a first. For the

00:35:55.560 - 00:36:16.229

Spanish speaking elderly nationwide and included. Uh, Cubanos and Puerto Riquinos in the process along with the, the Mexican American and it did kind of set up um Uh, advocacy throughout the United States for, uh, the Spanish speaking elderly, and, uh, it's resulted in, it's in, uh,

00:36:16.239 - 00:36:32.550

many kind of activities throughout the United States and, uh, to be a part of that type of activity is, is something that I consider very. Much of an achievement is something I was happy to be a part of. Can you think of something else either while

00:36:32.550 - 00:36:55.469

working with. The young people Or the Lulacs or. Well, without a doubt, I think uh organizing, uh, uh, the state of LULAC with 4 councils and bringing in, uh. Manpower training development moneys through uh er what it was called Operation Sa or Project Sa uh we

00:36:55.469 - 00:37:23.260

uh DAC in conjunction with the American GI Forum develop uh 4 projects throughout the state. LULAC was a a very instrumental. Doing this. SE, S E R stands for. Service, uh, employment, Rehabilitation. An acronym that was really uh a manpower training program for the Spanish speaking.

00:37:24.300 - 00:37:43.100

And along uh with this, with, you know, there's been. We developed one of the. Programs that we developed here in Balmer Springs of the migrant health clinic and this is still going is this still operating now and uh what is that called now is it the

00:37:43.489 - 00:38:04.250

los Cinco pueblos migrant. I got help. And that was something that grew up specifically out of. Yes, out of that social planning position that that I had, and there were a few other things throughout the four states like, uh, we established 4 senior, 4 senior centers

00:38:04.250 - 00:38:22.040

in, in throughout the four states like for instance in what 4 states are these? Well, uh, Topeka, Kansas, uh, and then right here on the Kansas the Guadalupe Center in Missouri, uh, yes, and the Guadalupe Center Incorporated in Kansas City, Missouri, and then in Davenport, Iowa

00:38:22.040 - 00:38:42.889

we started in. In Lincoln, Nebraska. So those are the four states, Nebraska, Iowa. Iowa, Kansas and Missouri. OK. And the, the one in, in, uh, Lincoln, Nebracka didn't quite get off the ground because of some technical difficulties, but. Elderly, it's, it's has been probably something that

00:38:42.889 - 00:39:05.909

I'm. very proud to be a part of. Uh, the elderly see anything. All right. Now what um. Are your plans for the future or what are some of the other things you would like to accomplish? Well, the future is something that, uh, I don't look too

00:39:05.909 - 00:39:24.750

far into outside of, uh. Well, I don't mean, 30 years from now, but at least what you are working towards right now. Hanging through That that is something very difficult to try to, to, no, I have, do you want to continue more or less in the

00:39:24.750 - 00:39:39.939

what I'm Getting at is, are you trying to continue working in, in the same areas that you have been now, or do you think you will specialize or move away or depending on how things work out? No, I, in terms of the future, I think one

00:39:39.939 - 00:39:55.639

of the things that, uh, I, I would want to continue to do is to be an advocate for, uh, Uh, the Chicano communities here in the, in the, in this area, this area, Kansas City, Missouri, but the Barnes too, yes, and I think that something like

00:39:55.639 - 00:40:21.149

this is needed because, uh, Our folks, uh, the Mexican people still have a lot of things that have to be accomplished, and it takes a lot of individuals doing. Things to eventually. To make the Uh, some impact on. On systems and what I'm saying is that

00:40:21.149 - 00:40:39.020

we have to get more people through the education system. Not only for their own good, but to try to help others you're trying to get more people involved in the whole. Yeah, there's a lot of services that are provided to people, and you have to be

00:40:39.020 - 00:40:55.600

in the system to, to make social policy have an impact in the, in the Spanish speaking communities, and what I'm saying is that you have to be an advocate for your own people so that you can help society at large. And I think, I think to

00:40:55.600 - 00:41:18.669

that end is what my future is uh is uh. Wow. OK. I think that, that It's going to take many individuals having a kind of a future go to you. Some specific goals, but, uh. To make things where things work for the Spanish speaking for the

00:41:18.669 - 00:41:26.449

economy. Very well, Mr. Hernandez. This concludes our interview for today. Thank you.