Man killed by Caltrain was longtime community activist

San Jose man killed by Caltrain was longtime community activist

http://www.mercurynews.com/breakingnews/ci_12909054?nclick_check=1

By Mark Gomez
mgomez@mercurynews.com
Posted: 07/24/2009

For more than 35 years, Jesse Dominguez of San Jose was a dedicated
community activist, devoting countless hours to those in need.
Whether it was marching on the front lines with Cesar Chavez,
fighting against discrimination or collecting toys for kids during
the holidays, Dominguez was there to help the community.

Family and friends are now mourning the death of Dominguez, whom they
described as a wonderful father, role model and compassionate man who
was genuinely concerned for others. Dominguez, 63, died Wednesday
after being struck by a Caltrain near Great Oaks Boulevard, south of
the Blossom Hill station.

Investigators believe his death was accidental. Family members said
Dominguez was returning from a doctor's appointment. He had just
gotten off a bus and was walking home.

"He was a special dude," said Tony Torres, director of the Gardner
Community Center in San Jose. "He was so grass-roots and unassuming.
But when it came down to advocating for people or a cause, he became a dynamo."

Dominguez was born in San Jose and grew up with his eight siblings,
according to his brother Henry Domniguez. Though his circle of peers
included students from San Jose State and Santa Clara universities,
Jesse Dominguez attended continuation high schools and took some
classes at San Jose City College, his brother said.

Henry Dominguez said his brother had a favorite quote to describe his
education: "School doesn't teach education; they teach instructions.
And what you do with those instructions to better your community is
an educated person."

Dominguez first became active in the progressive Chicano movement in
the late 1960s, when he joined the Brown Berets, a group that focused
on community events against police brutality. Dominguez also
volunteered for various community patrols, including the Monitors, a
group of volunteers who used to patrol the Santa Clara County Fair
and break up altercations.

"Any march, any time, any place in San Jose, you could see him at the
front of the line," said Shirley Trevino, a longtime community
activist who met Dominguez in the late 1960s and now works for the
city and county of San Francisco. "He never stopped making sure
community-based organizations were doing what they were supposed to
be doing for people in the community."

Dominguez also worked with gang members and other at-risk youth,
including runaways, and organized trips to Disneyland for kids in the
community. He sat on the board of the Legal Aid Society of Santa
Clara County and was involved with Latinos por la Gente (Latinos for
the People) and the Center for Employment Training on Vine Street,
according to family and friends.

He used his countless connections ­ he knew attorneys, judges and
City Council members ­ to make sure people got the help they needed,
Torres said.

"He was always looking out for the people that didn't have," Torres said.

Adrian Vargas, a South Bay artist and filmmaker, said he first met
Dominguez back in the late 1960s. As an artist, Vargas was director
of a theater group that performed plays to inspire community involvement.

Dominguez, a regular in the audience, had a favorite play: "The Man
Who Turned Into a Dog," where the main character loses his job and
dignity and only finds work as a watchdog, according to Vargas.

"Jesse was always for the underdog," Vargas said.

And he was a firm believer in public transit. He would walk and take
the bus to the numerous community centers and organizations that he
visited on a regular basis.

He was also a devoted father of 11 kids and stepchildren, said his
daughter, Rita Rodriguez.

"He just loved helping people," Rodriguez said. "It made him feel so
good about himself that he was making a difference in somebody's life."

In a 2003 profile in the Mercury News, Dominguez said the one lesson
he learned in life was "that it's not good to hate, because half the
people you hate don't know you hate them and the others don't care,
so why waste the energy?"
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Contact Mark Gomez at 408-920-5869.

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