Pioneering Hispanic Columnist Roger Hernandez Dies at 53

By: E&P Staff King Features Syndicate columnist Roger Emilio Hernandez died Saturday in Ridgewood, N.J., following a brief illness. He was 53.

Hernandez was one of the first Hispanic columnists to address the concerns of Hispanic Americans in a nationally syndicated newspaper feature. In his 1989-launched weekly column, Hernandez "offered an insightful perspective on the way Hispanics are changing America, and on the way America is changing the country's fastest-growing ethnic group," said King Features.

Born in Havana, Cuba, Hernandez immigrated with his family to the United States in 1964, settling in West New York, N.J. He went on to earn a bachelor's degree in communication from Rutgers University in 1977.

Hernandez was a researcher for "The MacNeil-Lehrer Report" before working in a variety of positions in the news department of the New Jersey Network, the state's public television network. He was also a former news editor for WWOR-TV.

For the last 10 years, Hernandez had been employed with the New Jersey Institute of Technology in Newark. He was also a co-founder of Galloping Hill Media in Boonton Township, N.J.

Hernandez wrote for numerous publications, including The Washington Post, The Philadelphia Inquirer, The Jersey Journal, New Jersey Monthly, and Hispanic Business. He also co-authored "Cubans in America: A Vibrant History of a People in Exile" (Kensington), and was an adjunct professor of journalism at Rutgers.

King released Hernandez's last column on Sept. 3.