Antonia Hernandez ’70, J.D. ’74

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Antonia Hernandez devotes her professional life to a single goal: changing the American political landscape. Her dream is to see her fellow Hispanics achieve full participation in the political life of her adopted country, and she has made remarkable progress toward this goal.

Perhaps more than any other person, Hernandez deserves credit for the fact that Hispanics in Los Angeles County can now elect a true representative to the powerful Board of Supervisors. As president a general counsel of MALDEF – the Mexican American Legal Defense and Educational Fund – Hernandez recently won a landmark restricting case. A federal appeals court last year supported MALDEF’s claim that the county officials intentionally discriminated against the Latino community when drawing district lines, preventing Latinos from effectively participating in country political processes.

Convinced that redistricting is an idea whose time has come, Hernandez has targeted several other jurisdictions around the state and nation where the full voting rights of Latinos have been denied.

Since Hernandez accepted the MALDEF leadership post in 1985, it has truly become “the Hispanic community’s law firm.” The national non-profit civil rights group has grown in size, power and scope, with donor support doubling. Indeed, it is not the most important Hispanic organization in the country, in the view of many community leaders.

Under Antonia’s guidance, MALDEF has fought successfully for more equitable allocation of funds for education, convincing the Texas State Supreme Court that the state’s system of funding public education with local property taxes violated the state constitution. MALDEF is now actively engaged in devising a more equitable plan, working closely with the Texas legislature. Several other states are also changing the way they finance their educational systems as a result of the historic Texas case.

Hernandez has also led MALDEF to the forefront of the fight for immigration rights and language rights, and has expanded the organization’s leadership training efforts.

A native of Torreon, Coahuila, Mexico, Antonia immigrated to the United States with her family when she was eight, an experience that has made her a wholehearted supporter of bilingual education. Growing up in East Lost Angeles, Antonia went on to earn her bachelor’s degree at UCLA before completing her education at the School of Law. She joined MALDEF in 1981 after several years in public interest law.

Her work with MALDEF is just the beginning of Antonia’s record of community achievement. She also holds leadership positions with a number of civic and cultural groups, including California Tomorrow, the Latino Museum and Commission Femenil, which encourages Hispanic women to run for public office. In service to her alma mater, she’s an active member of the Chancellor’s Community Advisory Commission and the UCLA Latino Alumni Association.

Hernandez balances career and family life; she and her husband Michael Stern, also an attorney, have three children (“my greatest accomplishment,’ in Antonia’s words).

Throughout her years of service, Hernandez has remained remarkably low profile, preferring to work behind the scenes. “Antonia is probably the most underrated Hispanic woman in America,” an admirer said. “She’s not a headline grabber, but when there’s a civil rights violation, she’s there. She deserves more recognition, because she’s done one heck of a job!”