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It's National Hispanic American Heritage Month!

Jim Schaffer

It's a national celebration to honor the history, culture, and influence of past generations who came from Spain, Mexico, the Caribbean and Central, and South America. The observance started in 1968 under President Lyndon Johnson's administration as a one-week celebration called Hispanic Heritage Week.

This year, the theme for Hispanic Heritage Month is "Esperanza: A Celebration of Hispanic Heritage and Hope."

Norwalk Public Schools will recognize Hispanic Heritage Month with a proclamation during the September 21 Board of Education meeting.

The day of September 15 is significant because it is the anniversary of the independence of Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, and Nicaragua.

Hispanic and Latino are often used interchangeably though they actually mean two different things. Hispanic refers to people who speak Spanish or are descended from Spanish-speaking populations, while Latino refers to people who are from or descended from people from Latin America. Latinx is a gender-neutral English neologism, sometimes used to refer to people of Latin American cultural or ethnic identity in the United States.

On September 14, 2021, President Biden issued a presidential proclamation on National Hispanic Heritage Month:

“During National Hispanic Heritage Month, we recognize that Hispanic heritage is American heritage. We see it in every aspect of our national life: on our television and movie screens, in the music that moves our feet, and in the foods we enjoy. We benefit from the many contributions of Hispanic scientists working in labs across the country to help us fight COVID-19 and the doctors and the nurses on the front lines caring for people’s health. Our Nation is represented by Hispanic diplomats who share our values in countries all over the world and strengthened by military members and their families who serve and sacrifice for the United States. Our communities are represented by Hispanic elected officials, and our children are taught by Hispanic teachers. Our future will be shaped by Hispanic engineers who are working to develop new technology that will help us grasp our clean energy future and by the skilled union workers who are going to build it.”

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