Joe Serna Jr. (September 3, 1939 – November 7, 1999) was an American educator and

civil rights Civil and political rights are a class of rights that protect individuals' political freedom, freedom from infringement by governments, social organizations, and private individuals. They ensure one's entitlement to participate in the civil and ...

activist who served as the 52nd mayor of Sacramento, California from 1992 until his death in 1999.

Early life

Joe Serna Jr. was born in Stockton, the son of migrant farm workers. He was raised in

labor camp A labor camp (or labour camp, see British and American spelling differences, spelling differences) or work camp is a detention facility where inmates are unfree labour, forced to engage in penal labor as a form of punishment. Labor camps have ...

s near Lodi and worked with his family in the fields at a young age. He graduated from what was then known as Sacramento State College in 1966.

Activism

He would grow up to become a supporter of the

United Farm Workers The United Farm Workers of America, or more commonly just United Farm Workers (UFW), is a labor union for farmworkers in the United States. It originated from the merger of two workers' rights organizations, the National Farm Workers Associatio ...

and worked with

César Chávez Cesario Estrada Chavez (; ; March 31, 1927 – April 23, 1993) was an American labor leader and civil rights activist. Along with Dolores Huerta and lesser known Gilbert Padilla, he co-founded the National Farm Workers Association (NFWA), ...

. Serna organized clothing and food drives for striking farm workers in the 1960s and was one of the UFW's main Sacramento leaders for close to 30 years. Serna was also a sometime member of the Royal Chicano Air Force.

Public career

Serna became the first Latino mayor of

Sacramento Sacramento ( or ; ; ) is the capital city of the U.S. state of California and the seat of Sacramento County. Located at the confluence of the Sacramento and American Rivers in Northern California's Sacramento Valley, Sacramento's 2020 p ...

. Before becoming mayor, Serna had served 11 years on the

Sacramento City Council The Sacramento City Council is the governing body of the city of Sacramento, California. The council holds regular meetings at Sacramento City Hall on Tuesdays at 6:00 pm, with exceptions for holidays and other special cases. Sacramento's city co ...

. He also served in the

Peace Corps The Peace Corps is an Independent agency of the U.S. government, independent agency and program of the United States government that trains and deploys volunteers to communities in partner countries around the world. It was established in Marc ...

and was a professor in the Government Department at California State University Sacramento. As mayor, Serna pushed through initiatives to honor César Chávez when the legendary civil rights leader died in 1993. Serna organized a caravan from Sacramento to march in Chávez's funeral and renamed a park in front of City Hall to Cesar E. Chavez Plaza. Furthermore, Sacramento became the first city in the United States to honor César Chávez with a holiday.

Legacy

Serna died of kidney cancer on November 7, 1999, aged 60, while in office in Sacramento, California; Jimmie R. Yee presided over the remainder of his term. Serna is buried at East Lawn Cemetery, and his funeral was attended by many of his fellow UFW activists. Serna was honored in 2001 with a brand-new, 25-story skyscraper named after him. The Joe Serna, Jr. EPA Building (near City Hall in downtown Sacramento) has been named the most energy-efficient high rise in the United States by

Energy Star Energy Star (trademarked ENERGY STAR) is an Efficient energy use, energy-efficiency program established in 1992. It is administered by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) in partnership with the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE). The EPA ...

. Many California universities and organizations have also established scholarships and grants in Joe Serna's name. Joe Serna, Jr. Charter School, the only Spanish/English dual-immersion school in Lodi, carries out Serna's legacy of giving all people the opportunity to have their voices heard. Sacramento City Unified School District honored Serna by naming their new headquarters, residing on 47th Avenue, after him. Serna is also, to date, the most recent mayor of Sacramento to eulogize a former California governor, delivering the final remarks at the funeral mass of

Pat Brown Edmund Gerald "Pat" Brown (April 21, 1905 – February 16, 1996) was an American lawyer and politician who served as the 32nd governor of California from 1959 to 1967. His first elected office was as district attorney for San Francisco, and he ...

in 1996 at the Blessed Sacrament Cathedral, which was presided over by then-governor

Pete Wilson Peter Barton Wilson (born August 23, 1933) is an American attorney and politician who served as governor of California from 1991 to 1999. A member of the Republican Party (United States), Republican Party, Wilson previously served as a United S ...

, whose term also ended in 1999, and celebrated by then-Bishop William Weigand. Serna's eulogy was in Spanish and English. Joe Serna was also honored with apartments in his name. This place is known as Serna Village Apartments in McClellan Park, California.

References

External links

''Guide to the Joe Serna, Jr. papers, 1939-1999 (1992-1999)''''Sacramento Mayor Joe Serna Jr. Dies First Latino in the job, loyal ally of Cesar Chavez''
{{DEFAULTSORT:Serna, Joe Jr. 1939 births 1999 deaths 20th-century mayors of places in California Hispanic and Latino American mayors in California Politicians from Stockton, California Sacramento City Council members Mayors of Sacramento, California California Democrats California State University, Sacramento alumni Deaths from cancer in California Deaths from kidney cancer in the United States