San Antonio mourned the death of Joe Bernal, the Democratic politician known for championing education and civil rights.
Bernal served in the state House and Senate from 1964 to 1972, where he fought for the state's first bilingual education law and the end of de jure segregation in Texas, as well as the creation of the University of Texas at San Antonio and the UT Health Science Center.
Bernal was born in San Antonio on March 1, 1927. He said he grew up poor but his family was "rich in spirit." He graduated from Lanier High School, and he was an advocate for bilingual education at a time when it was discouraged.
