Hispanic Heritage Month!

Hispanic Heritage Month is similar to Black History Month and LGBTQ+ Pride. It is a month for celebration, recognition, and education. This year (2020) it takes place from September 15 to October 15. 

Many people also call Hispanic Heritage Month, Latino Heritage Month while others prefer Chicano. It was first introduced in 1968 by President Lyndon B. Johnson, who made Hispanic Heritage a nationally recognized week in the year. Later, this idea expanded and the week became a month in 1989 when Ronald Reagon made a public law for it.

It is celebrated on September 15th because that’s the date five Latin American countries ( El Savador, Honduras, Guatemala, Nicragua, and Costa Rica) gained their independence from Spain in 1821.

Here are some quick facts:

• The 2nd largest population of Hispanics is in the USA

• There are over 12 states in USA that have over 1 million people with Hispanic backgrounds

• There are about 60.6 million Hispanics in the USA’ s population

People celebrate this month in many different ways. Usually, the official government has a calendar of the hosted events. Most of these events are free and include festivals and carnivals, however in 2020, these activities are online. This means there will be online dancing and speakers on Skype or Zoom. In the usual parades, people dress in colorful, festive clothing and dance to music. Schools also do fun activities like reading books on the history, playing music, dancing, and overall adapting their lesson plans based on that month.

Article Credit: Apoorva Khandelwal