Newswise — Ronald Fernández, a seminal figure in the field of Latino and Caribbean studies in the United States, has passed away.
He came to national attention in 1987 after the publication of Los Macheteros: The Wells Fargo Robbery and the Struggle for Puerto Rican Independence. In a strange feat for any scholar, Dr. Fernandez, was given free access to the operations of The Boricua Popular/People's Army, also known as “Los Macheteros,” where he soon found out that the Wells Fargo Robbery was not a selfless act but an attempt to secure resources to launch a campaign to free the oldest colony on earth: Puerto Rico. Afterwards, Fernández launched a quest to gain a better understanding of the colonial dynamics surrounding Puerto Rico. His book: The Disenchanted Island: Puerto Rico and the United States in the Twentieth century, published in 1992, is considered to be the ultimate text defining the colonial relationships between the United States and Puerto Rico.
A man of the sixties, product of the New School of Social Research, Fernández, was always on top of the major social phenomena in the United States. His intellectual and human interests led to the publication of numerous texts such as: America Beyond Black and White : How Immigrants and Fusions are Helping Us Overcome the Racial Divide, America's Banquet of Cultures: Harnessing ethnicity, race, and immigration in the twenty-first century, Cruising the Caribbean : U.S. Influence and Intervention in the Twentieth century, Duck and Cover : a social history of Civil Defense, Excess profits : the rise of United Technologies.
In 1996, he identified the dearth of reference materials about Puerto Rico for high school students and lower level college students. This led to the publication, along two colleagues, of Puerto Rico Past and Present: A Reference Guide, a concise encyclopedia of Puerto Rican cultural history nationally recognized by the American Library Association with the Denali Book Award for its unique contribution to the field.
Fernández always kept his heart and interest attuned with the need of the community. Understanding its needs and the challenges, he founded the Caribbean Studies Center at Central Connecticut State University in 1992. The center has provided a platform for intellectual growth for Caribbean students, or students who want to learn about the Caribbean. There he mentored students and fellow Latino faculty alike through international exchanges, lectures and conferences.
Fernandez travelled the United States, Europe and the Caribbean lecturing on his areas of specialty. He wrote an opinion column for the Hartford Courant. He was most recently invited to lecture at the Commonwealth Club, one of the most prestigious organizations in the field.
After his retirement from CCSU, he kept a local and national presence teaching, lecturing and writing. Facing the ominous diagnosis of cancer, he was featured in a widely seen advertisement for Saint Francis Hospital who lovely catered to him until the end.
Ronnie, as he liked to be called, was born on June 30, 1944 in Brooklyn, NY. He was a family man above all. The love of his life was Brenda Harrison and his three children Adam, Carrie and Ben, and his and three grandchildren, residents of Philadelphia, New York and West Hartford. He also survived by his sister Sally, At times, sister, mother and friend.
RSS