His journey started as a nine-year-old Oaxacan immigrant who settled in Northern California. Growing up in an agricultural labor camp, he witnessed the power of radio as a means of communication and information for Latino agricultural workers.
Almost a half-century after co-founding his radio network in Fresno, he is the first Mexican-Indigenous recipient of an honorary doctorate from Harvard University, receiving the award alongside Tom Hanks and biochemist Katalin Karikó.
After leaving that labor camp, Hugo Morales turned his desire to influence the system for the better and create a resource network for Latinos and Indigenous people in Radio Bilingüe. Since Morales co-founded the network in 1976, the organization has grown to become the leading Spanish-language public radio network, producing educational and informational content for Latinos across the United States.
Over the years, Morales has received several accolades for his work. He was the first person from the San Joaquin Valley to be honored as a MacArthur Fellow for communications and journalism in 1994. In 1999, he received the Edward R. Murrow Award, the highest honor in public radio, and in 2006, he was awarded the Lannan Cultural Freedom Award for his promotion of social justice and human rights. Morales’s recognition as an honorary doctorate from Harvard validates and inspires young Latinos and Indigenous people interested in communication and the arts.
Colleagues and community members have praised Morales for his dedication to serving Latino farmworker communities and providing vital information through radio. Radio Bilingüe’s programming reaches a wide audience, including farmworkers carrying their radios while working in the fields.
Radio Bilingüe continues to make a positive impact, with a national network of 25 stations and 75 affiliated stations broadcasting shows in multiple languages, including Hmong and Tagalog. Morales’s vision and commitment to serving marginalized communities have contributed to the organization’s success and the recognition he has received throughout his career.
— Reporting by Cameron Coats, from Troy, N.Y.
