Hernández uses his experience to push for social justice

Ubaldo Hernández was part of the push to create Radio Tierra in Hood River in 2004. The FM radio station gave a voice to the Spanish-speaking community.

Social justice efforts benefit entire community and economy

Latino community organizer is working to create positive change

From Washington Gorge Action Programs:

By Tammy Kaufman

Bingen, Washington (Dec. 1, 2021) - Opportunity brought Ubaldo Hernández to White Salmon from Mexico City. As a young man in 1994, he came looking for a chance to improve his life. He stayed for the opportunity to improve the lives of others through promoting social justice.

When he arrived, Hernández did not speak English. He came to work on the farms. The language was a barrier to his success, so he enrolled in English classes. He wanted to improve his English and found a job washing dishes in a restaurant, which he says helped him achieve his goal to get a job at a local print shop in The Dalles.

Today, Hernández is a senior organizer for Columbia Riverkeeper. He conducts community outreach in the Latino community for clean water and promotes equity, inclusion, and diversity for all. He is also a board member for Washington Gorge Action Programs (WAGAP); its mission of strengthening community aligns well.

His path to fighting for social justice started early. In White Salmon, he learned of a leadership training program called “Horizons” from NW Area Foundation, which partnered with Washington State University. It was designed to identify poverty and ways to overcome it. “It helped us to learn those skills and teach those skills to other members of the community,” Hernández said. He applied that knowledge and offered training to local packing house workers. 

Hernández has been inspired by groups like the farmworkers and child advocates who joined together to create La Clínica del Cariño, now known as One Community Health. “We want to see a healthy community; we want to have a community that thrives,” he said. 

“Social justice means all people have the right to live fulfilling lives, engaging in and contributing to society in positive, productive ways.” This is according to One Community Health’s website. The nonprofit migrant health center first opened its doors in Hood River in 1986 and has a mission to advance health and social justice for all community members. Hernández celebrates the clinic’s accomplishments but wishes it had maintained its original name as part of its identity and history of the Latino community in the Gorge.

Members of the Spanish-speaking community began to focus on giving a voice to their community in an effort that would eventually lead to the creation of Radio Tierra. In January 2000, the FCC began authorizing low-power FM radio stations run by nonprofit organizations that broadcast educational material. The group started to work with local nonprofit Mid-Columbia Centro Cultural to apply for a permit to build a new radio station. 

Hernández joined this effort after a Latino man in The Dalles was killed for playing his music too loud. Music is a form of cultural identity. Hernández recalls when he asked for justice on a local Latino radio show (la nueva Onda Latina), the station canceled the program. 

“We (the Spanish-speaking community) wanted to build this radio station because we felt that there was a big need for an organization that could allow the Latino community to communicate and talk about the issues that really matter to them,” Hernández said. In 2004, Radio Tierra became a reality. 

“We started the radio station from nothing. We have the capacity to build these types of organizations to amplify the voices of our community,” he said. “This Latino community is an important part of our local economy. Farmworkers are not unskilled workers. Farmworkers need a lot of special skills to prune, pick, and thin fruit properly and do all the work needed in the orchards. It takes time to learn those skills, and it takes strength, dedication, and love for the work you do.” 

He is still involved today with his program “Conoce Tu Columbia” or “Know Your Columbia.” He shares inspiring interviews while sharing stories of how people protect health and water from pollution.

When he joined Columbia Riverkeepers five years ago, he focused on organizing the Latino community to protect the river. It allowed him to work with people for a common cause. “It (pollution) doesn’t only affect us,” Hernández said, “we don’t want pesticides because it reaches the river and contaminates the river and affects the salmon.” 

“We cannot work only on protecting the environment,” Hernández said, “we have to also protect the people. When you work at a farm, you are directly exposed to pollutants such as pesticides, and it becomes a social justice issue for our farm working community.” He pointed out that poor people are often disproportionately affected by pollution. They do not have much choice about where they live, and they work these types of jobs that do not offer much protection from contamination.

These issues led Hernández to help develop Comunidades, a new organization amplifying voices for environmental and social justice in the Columbia River Gorge. Juan Monje is the Community Organizer. He advocates for laws that favor immigrant communities and fair representation. The two have pioneered “Voces del Noroeste” or “Voices from the Northwest,” regional conversations with political, social, and cultural analysis.

Getting more people involved in their communities is a primary goal for Hernández. “We want it to be more than tokenism,” he said. He wants to engage people of all ages to understand the needs and advocate for impoverished communities. But he notes it can be challenging as it is difficult for lower-income families to participate due to time and money constraints.

Comunidades is currently offering training to help people develop leadership skills and prepare to run for elected positions such as local school boards. Another class will start in January for 12-15 people, including dinner and offering a stipend to help offset the costs of participating, such as childcare. It is open to residents in Washington and Oregon in Skamania, Klickitat, Hood River, and Wasco Counties. Anyone interested can email ubaldo@columbiariverkeeper.org or juan@comunidades.org or call 541-490-7722.

Going forward, Comunidades will continue working on issues surrounding affordable housing and overtime pay for farmworkers by advocating for new state legislation. The group also hopes to launch a new paid internship program for Latino youth and young adults to shadow decision-makers and learn how leadership works. 

“We are empowering the community,” Hernández said, “the benefits we create for the Latino community transfer to the rest of the community. As a community, we can do big things to advocate for social justice. Poverty is not an issue only for the Latino community. Affordable housing is not an issue only for the Latino community. Healthcare access is not an issue only for the Latino community. All of these issues are affecting all of our low-income communities. If we work together, we can overcome these issues.”