About this Event
This is the first in a series of conversations Manny's will be hosting for the candidates running to represent District 9 on the Board of Supervisors! After a short conversation with the candidate, audience members will be able to ask questions of the candidate directly as we open it up into a town hall style-discussion! Come ready to learn, listen, and get involved – we're excited to see you there!
About Roberto Hernandez
Roberto first experienced the power and joy of community as a child growing up in the Mission District. The neighborhood was a multicultural melting pot, and he knew every single family on their block. He spent his days playing outside with his friends and visiting their homes, where something was always cooking on the stove: pork adobo, minestrone soup, jerk chicken, enchiladas, pupusas. As a result, he was exposed to so many different cultures at a young age.
As a teenager, Roberto learned how to channel his community values into organizing, and he saw firsthand what was possible when they all came together in service of a common goal. His father sent him to Delano, California, to volunteer with Cesar Chevaz and Dolores Huerta, the leaders of the labor movement, during the summer of 1970. They brought them out into the fields to work alongside the farmers, and his perspective transformed when he experienced their working conditions. Cesar and Dolores taught them how to organize themselves to fight for basic human rights, like decent wages and functioning toilets and clean water.
Roberto brought that spirit back home with him to the Mission, where he spent the rest of his life dedicated to organizing movements on behalf of his community. His experiences as a youth leader for the Real Alternatives Program—a role that eventually grew to Executive Director—allowed him to help young people from the neighborhood divert from troubled pasts into life paths that brought them college degrees, lucrative careers, and home ownership. He fought for many successful affordable housing initiatives across the district, resulting in the creation of thousands of new homes, and he secured funding from the city to build Raza Park and the Mission Recreation Center. Roberto also helped establish the Bernal Heights Neighborhood Center and served as its first director, providing services to seniors, children, and youth.
He helped produce the neighborhood’s Carnaval celebration, an annual opportunity for residents to connect to their roots and share ancestral traditions with the wider community, since its inception nearly 50 years ago, and he’s now the organization’s CEO. He served on several local boards and committees, including the Mission Neighborhood Health Center, the Mission Merchants Association, and Roadmap to Peace. During the pandemic, he founded and spearheaded the creation of the Mission Food Hub, which provides resources including culturally appropriate groceries, vaccinations, and rental assistance to tens of thousands of their district’s residents in need.
Now, after more than six decades investing in his beloved community, Roberto is eager to take on a new leadership role as District 9 Supervisor. Over the years, he’s formed deep relationships with officials across every city department, with folks of every political alliance. He knows how to get people into the same room and, no matter their beliefs, effectively work together to achieve meaningful outcomes instead of engaging in partisan bickering. He hopes to channel his half-century of experience as an organizer and an advocate into creating change at the citywide level, representing the district he’s lived in for his entire life.
Candidates and their committees recieve no amount of revenue generated by ticket sales.
Manny's never turns away anyone for lack of funds. To receive a complementary ticket just email the word "grapefruit" and the title of this event to [email protected].
Want to support community members? By purchasing a "Pay It Forward" ticket you will allow us to provide free tickets to those who may not be able to afford entry otherwise and ensure we can create a diverse socio-economic audience that represents San Francisco.
Event Venue & Nearby Stays
Manny's, 3092 16th Street, San Francisco, United States
USD 15.00 to USD 30.00