SAM (SEBASTIAN) HERNANDEZ
(Sam on the left and his 2 oldest brothers, Linus and Isidore)
Sam is from a migrant family of 9. [Some or All] of the remaining siblings of that clan are here today. All of them were members of this community. They were one of a very few ethnic minority families in this town - the only such family that resided here through most of their Public School years.
The Hernandez family came from another even smaller town, this one in Martin County near Fairmont, by the name of East Chain. They came to Delavan because the sugar beet grower who they worked for had found it necessary to stop planting beets. The only lowland truck farm that Delavan ever had, was the Verdoorns. They hired the Hernandez clan. In one simple, unconscious act they inadvertently did what became the turning point toward a chance for unimaginable equal opportunity for the Hernandez clan--especially the children. It was not the work or the type of work that mattered. It was work that was offered year-round to a family that had migrated from job-to-job, from one seasonal crop to another, and from one state to another all year long. For example, when Sam entered school at Grade 6 in Delavan, he had already attended over 40 schools! The family “settled out”, a phenomena only dreamed about among migrant families. They could now be a typical family - at least in relation to residency. The Hernandez family will forever be indebted to the Verdoorns for the crucial and pivotal opportunity the Verdoorns unknowingly gave them to freedom, comfort, equality and hope.
Sam became a musician at age 7, first on violin, then mandolin, then trombone and string bass. He progressed from performing within the family combo to putting together a jazz combo named The Starlighters in the Tallahassee, Florida, area in later years. Sam joined the U.S. Air Force in 1950, working primarily in a mobile weather detachment operating for a number of military bases all over Europe, mainly in Germany and France. The resulting opportunity to benefit from the GI Bill opened the door for him, and thousands of veterans, to seek higher education. Sam started his college education by first taking home courses via the Air Force Education Institute service, which included time in Oklahoma State College and courses from Heidelberg while in Germany. Upon discharge, Sam pursued his program in earnest at Mankato State College, went on to Florida State University where he finished his undergraduate, and then returned to Minnesota to earn his Master’s in Education at Macalester College in St. Paul. He started teaching in the Saint Paul Public Schools in 1961.
Sam became an activist in race relations, civil rights, human relations and, finally, cultural diversity. Between 1962 and 1970 he was deeply involved in programs that offered opportunities for students to travel abroad for education and societal immersion. As a result, the veteran organization known as “The 40 and 8 Club” honored him with the Americanism Award. Within that same timeframe, Sam became the only Latino, to date, to receive the Teacher of Excellence and the Teacher of the Year Finalist awards from the Minnesota Education Association.
The surge of activism for equality in race, gender, education, employment, etc., in the 70’s and 80’s by such national leaders as Martin Luther King, Malcolm X and Cesar Chavez, brought about the birth of similar leaderships in every State of the Union. Sam became one of the prominent Latino Ombudsmen at that time - primarily under a new national force known as Affirmative Action and Equal Education and Employment Opportunity. He joined a number of state activists identified by the MN Department of Education, and they drew up a bill that passed the congressional floor as the HR521 Bill. The Bill stated that no teacher could get licensed or renew a license to teach, unless they took 60 clock hours of course work which included requirements on the history, heritage and culture of the four groups of color; their contributions to the U.S. way of life, and how to better multiculturally communicate with them. Sam became one of the most prominent trainers and presenters in the State on cultural diversity issues. He formed his own consulting business, called Sunsol Enterprise, to facilitate cultural diversity teaching and training, and has presented at virtually every Minnesota school district, and in other states. In the late 70’s, Sam was selected by the National Educational Task Force de La Raza to be one of a few speakers to present on cultural diversity issues crucial to Latinos, including bi-lingual education in key districts all over the Midwestern states.
Sam was an Assistant Principal Intern before taking the position of Consultant. During that period, he worked with Mankato State College to pilot a Minority Student recruitment program in the metro area schools. As a result, more minority students from the Twin City metro area came to Mankato State than at any other time in the college’s history.
By this time Sam was no longer in the classroom. He was the St. Paul School District “Consultant on Hispanic Affairs”, and was free from the District office to accept national contracts. He did similar contractual work with Control Data Corporation, this time training corporate managers of many major national corporations all over the U.S.
Sam had continued to work toward his doctorate in School Administration. He completed enough other hours to become a licensed social worker, worked as a consultant/trainer in the adoption of children of color by Anglo couples, and co-chaired the State Task Force on the Heritage Bill that was passed to better monitor the adoption placement of minority children.
Sam is now retired but still active in education concerns. He is currently planning a conference, to be hosted by Mankato State University, that will address key crucial issues regarding Latino enrollment, academic competiveness, graduation and seeking post-high education. Attendees will include key state Latino organizations and administrators of school districts with large Latino student populations.
Sam says, “The fortune of me being here in this position is partly due to the audacity of a Delavan math teacher who crossed the street from the school, walked into the house after I refused to answer the door knock; grabbed me by the scruff of my neck, and dragged me toward the school saying ‘No way in hell are you going to drop out of school, Sam. Git!’”
Sam got.
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