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Hispanic Heritage Month is a nationally recognized celebration of the histories, cultures, and contributions of Americans whose ancestors came from across the Spanish-speaking world. The federal government established Hispanic Heritage Week in 1968 in legislation sponsored by Representative Edward R. Roybal. Roybal grew up in Los Angeles in a Neomexicano family and went on to serve 30 years as a United States Congressman, eventually earning the Presidential Citizens Medal and the Presidential Medal of Freedom. The weeklong celebration he established was expanded to a full month in 1988 based on the efforts of Representative Estaban Torres, a Mexican American congressman from Los Angeles. Since then, Hispanic Heritage Month has been celebrated each year from September 15 to October 15. These dates are historically significant because they coincide with the anniversary of independence for many Latin American countries: Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua, Mexico, and Chile.

There are nearly 60 millions people of Spanish or Latin American ancestry in the United States, approximately 19% of the total population. As we celebrate their heritage, it’s important to remember that the U.S. Hispanic population is itself incredibly diverse. It includes people whose ancestry spans over 20 distinct countries from across the diaspora of the Spanish-speaking world, which was created when Spain colonized indigenous peoples living in modern day Mexico, the Caribbean, and Central and South America. It includes people of different races, people who trace their ancestry in America back hundreds of years and people who immigrated more recently. Indeed, even the category of “Hispanic” is contested. While some view “Hispanic” as an invitation to pan-ethnic unity, others see it as an inauthentic label assigned by the Census bureau and prefer to self-identify as Latino/Latina/Latinx, by their nationality, or by none of those. This rich diversity of cultures, ideas, and people is a huge part of what we celebrate during this month.

To all those who identify as Hispanic or Latinx in our community, thank you for your contributions here at TBLS! We also gratefully acknowledge the ways in which the contributions of Hispanic and Latinx communities are woven throughout the fabric of our society. We hope the entire community will take this month to learn more about Hispanic and Latinx cultures and people, and we have attached some resources for you to use as a starting point. Celebrating and honoring cultures is part of the life-long learning that we engage in here at TBLS. If you have other suggestions for how we can celebrate Hispanic Heritage Month - and other cultures in our school community in the future - please contact the School Leadership Team or your Student Senate representatives to share your ideas.

Resources for exploring Hispanic Heritage:

• National Archives of Hispanic Heritage Month

• PBS Celebrates Hispanic Heritage Month

• Latino Civil Rights Timeline: 1903 to 2006

• NYTimes Hispanic American Archive

• StoryCorps Historias

• Our America: The Latino Presence in American Art from The Smithsonian Museum

• Afropop Music and Podcasts

• Recent YA Books to Celebrate National Hispanic Heritage Month from NYPL

TBLS is a public school of the Brooklyn North High Schools. Check out the district website here.