Frank Michael Fernández, Jr. (April 17, 1918 – June 18, 2001) was an American

historian A historian is a person who studies and writes about the past and is regarded as an authority on it. Historians are concerned with the continuous, methodical narrative and research of past events as relating to the human species; as well as the ...

educator A teacher, also called a schoolteacher or formally an educator, is a person who helps students to acquire knowledge, competence, or virtue, via the practice of teaching. ''Informally'' the role of teacher may be taken on by anyone (e.g. w ...

, and notable Isleño advocate in

St. Bernard Parish St. Bernard Parish (; ) is a List of parishes in Louisiana, parish in the U.S. state of Louisiana. The parish seat and largest community is Chalmette, Louisiana, Chalmette. The parish was formed in 1807. St. Bernard Parish is part of the New Or ...

Louisiana Louisiana ( ; ; ) is a state in the Deep South and South Central regions of the United States. It borders Texas to the west, Arkansas to the north, and Mississippi to the east. Of the 50 U.S. states, it ranks 31st in area and 25 ...

. Through his advocacy and exposure in the community, he attracted academics like

Samuel G. Armistead Samuel Gordon Armistead (August 21, 1927 – August 7, 2013) was an American ethnographer, linguist, folklorist, historian, literary critic and professor of Spanish. He is considered one of the most notable Hispanist scholars of the second half o ...

, among others, to study the Isleños of St. Bernard Parish. His tenure as a public educator was marked by his fight for a Spanish language program as a means to preserve the

Isleño Spanish Isleño Spanish (Spanish language, Spanish: , ) is a dialect of Canarian Spanish spoken by the descendants of immigrant Canary Islanders who settled in St. Bernard Parish, Louisiana, St. Bernard Parish, Louisiana, United States, during the late 1 ...

dialect. Ultimately, his work to preserve the

Canary Islander Canary Islanders, or Canarians (), are the people of the Canary Islands, an autonomous community of Spain near the coast of Northwest Africa. The distinctive variety of the Spanish language spoken in the region is known as ''habla canaria'' (Ca ...

descendants community led to the formation of Los Isleños Heritage and Cultural Society of St. Bernard.

Life

Early life

The son to a Galician and Isleña, Frank Fernández lived a life similar to the other Isleños of the fishing communities dotted along the coasts of St. Bernard Parish which was highlighted by a subsistence lifestyle. He and his elder brother were some of the first Isleños from these villages to complete high school at Joseph Maumus High School during the

Great Depression The Great Depression was a severe global economic downturn from 1929 to 1939. The period was characterized by high rates of unemployment and poverty, drastic reductions in industrial production and international trade, and widespread bank and ...

Education and career

Following his graduation from high school, Fernández then participated in

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

. In his return to St. Bernard Parish, he sought higher education and acquired undergraduate and graduate degrees in education with minors in history, Spanish, and social studies at

Loyola University New Orleans Loyola University New Orleans is a Private university, private Jesuit university in New Orleans, Louisiana, United States. Originally established as Loyola College in 1904, the institution was chartered as a university in 1912. It bears the nam ...

. Fernández began his career in education at Delacroix Island Elementary School in 1951. He was later appointed principal at the same school and then served as principal of St. Bernard High School from 1955 to 1966. During these years, Fernández established a positive reputation as an individual who was sensitive to his community. For the next fourteen years he continued his work as an educator in

Plaquemines Parish Plaquemines Parish ( ; ; ; ) is a parish located in the U.S. state of Louisiana. With a population of 23,515 at the 2020 census, the parish seat is Pointe à la Hache and the largest community is Belle Chasse. The parish was formed in 1807. ...

, holding teaching and principal positions until his retirement in 1980. He briefly came out of retirement to serve as principal of Promised Land Academy during the 1985-1986 school year. In 1969, Fernández was elected as the St. Bernard Parish School Board member representing the former 11th Ward and served this term until 1974. During his tenure, he fought for a Spanish language curriculum in eastern St. Bernard Parish schools and the retention of the Delacroix Island Elementary School.

Preservation and community advocacy

In 1967, Fernández was recognized for his scholarship in local history and so he was appointed as historian of St. Bernard Parish. In the following year, he participated in the founding of the St. Bernard Historical Society and placed nineteen historical markers throughout the Parish. Fernández championed the preservation of

Fort Proctor Fort Proctor is a ruined 19th century fort in St. Bernard Parish, Louisiana, USA. It is also known as Fort Beauregard or Beauregard's Castle (after P.G.T. Beauregard, who supervised its construction with the architect J.G. Totten). The fort is ...

near Shell Beach, a fortification whose construction was supervised by

P.G.T. Beauregard Pierre Gustave Toutant-Beauregard (May 28, 1818 – February 20, 1893) was an American military officer known as being the Confederate general who started the American Civil War at the battle of Fort Sumter on April 12, 1861. Today, he is comm ...

in 1856. By personally leading a campaign to preserve the site, Fernández was able to secure legislative appropriations to build a

riprap Riprap (in North American English), also known as rip rap, rip-rap, shot rock, rock armour (in British English) or rubble, is human-placed rock or other material used to protect shoreline structures against scour and water, wave, or ice erosion. ...

around the fortification. Additionally in 1978, he was able to have Fort Proctor placed on the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the Federal government of the United States, United States federal government's official United States National Register of Historic Places listings, list of sites, buildings, structures, Hist ...

. In 1971, Fernández established the Louis Alfred Ducros, M.D. Historical Museum and Research Library as the first local history museum in St. Bernard Parish. Today, this museum is part of Los Isleños Museum Complex and used to interpret the history and culture of the Parish. Later, he served as chairman of the St. Bernard National Bicentennial Commission as well as on the bicentennial commission of St. Bernard Parish in 1980. In 1975, Fernández worked with

WYES-TV WYES-TV (channel 12) is a PBS member television station in New Orleans, Louisiana, United States, owned by the Greater New Orleans Educational Television Foundation. The station's studios are located on Navarre Avenue in the city's Navarre neig ...

to produce a film documentary ''Louisiana's Disappearing Spanish Legacy'' about the Isleños of St. Bernard, interpreting the Isleño presence as the last living vestige of

Spanish Louisiana Louisiana (, ), was a province of New Spain from 1762 to 1801. It was primarily located in the center of North America encompassing the western basin of the Mississippi River plus New Orleans. The area had originally been claimed and controlle ...

. The documentary aroused enthusiastic support in the Isleño community which resulted in the founding of Los Isleños Heritage and Cultural Society of St. Bernard in 1976. In the following year, Fernández led the first delegation of Canary Islander descendants of St. Bernard to the

Canary Islands The Canary Islands (; ) or Canaries are an archipelago in the Atlantic Ocean and the southernmost Autonomous communities of Spain, Autonomous Community of Spain. They are located in the northwest of Africa, with the closest point to the cont ...

since the arrival of their families in the late eighteenth century. Fernández’s work with this Society resulted in the establishment of el Museo de los Isleños in 1980 and an annual

festival A festival is an event celebrated by a community and centering on some characteristic aspect or aspects of that community and its religion or cultures. It is often marked as a local or national holiday, Melā, mela, or Muslim holidays, eid. A ...

that celebrates Isleño heritage and culture. In 1979, he was awarded funds for a research program from the

National Endowment for the Humanities The National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH) is an independent federal agency of the U.S. government, established by thNational Foundation on the Arts and the Humanities Act of 1965(), dedicated to supporting research, education, preserv ...

to process and organize eighteenth- and nineteenth-century archives. During 1984 and 1985, he also performed a series of oral history interviews almost entirely in

of the elderly

Isleños Isleños () are the Kinship, descendants of Canarian people, Canarian settlers and immigrants to present-day Louisiana, Puerto Rico, Texas, Cuba, the Dominican Republic, Venezuela, and other parts of the Americas. In these places, the name ''i ...

in St. Bernard Parish. These oral histories proved useful for a series of academics who visited the community through the 1990s to study the community.

Later life

Fernández continued his advocacy and study of his community into his later years. In 1993, he suffered a stroke which greatly impeded his ability to speak, but he was able to continue his work to some extent. Two years later, he produced his final work, ''The Settlement of Yscloskey and Alluvial City'', along with his daughter Maria and illustrator Robert Flautt. Following his death, a multipurpose building and community center was established in his name and can be found at Los Isleños Museum Complex.

References