Joe Serna, Jr.

Joe Serna, Jr. (1939 in Stockton, California – November 7 1999 in Sacramento, California) was a civil rights activist and mayor of Sacramento, California, USA from 1992 until his death.

Early life

Serna was born in Stockton, the son of migrant farm workers. He was raised in labor camps near Lodi and worked with his family in the fields at a young age.

Activism

He would grow up to becoming a supporter of the United Farm Workers and worked with César Chávez. 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.Fact|date=June 2007

Public career

Serna became the first Latino mayor of Sacramento Before becoming mayor, Serna had served 18 years on the Sacramento City Council. He also served in the Peace Corps and was a professor in the Government Department at California State University Sacramento.

As mayor, Serna helped revitalize Sacramento's downtown area and 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 in office on November 7, 1999 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, 900,000-square-foot 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. 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.

###@@@KEY@@@###succession box
before = Anne Rudin
title = Mayor of Sacramento, California | years = 1993–1999
after = Jimmie R. Yee

External links

* [http://www.csus.edu/ssis/inductees/academyserna.htm "Joe Serna, Jr."]
* [http://www.csus.edu/sernacenter/about/sernas.htm "The Sernas"]
* [http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/chronicle/archive/1999/11/08/MN62151.DTL "Sacramento Mayor Joe Serna Jr. Dies First Latino in the job, loyal ally of Cesar Chavez"]