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Celebrating Hispanic Heritage Month 2023

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Blue background with the worlds Hispanic &Latino Heritage Celebration and the bar code to get tickets

The Office of Racial Equity and the Vermont Human Rights Commission request your participation in celebrating Hispanic Heritage Month

Together we will celebrate the contributions and achievements of the Hispanic and Latine communities

  • On October 14th we will gather at the Capital City Grange Hall in Berlin and celebrate together with food, dancing, and Latin music!

Let us know you are coming: Celebration Tickets (Saturday, 10/14, from 2-6 PM)

History

Each year, the United States observes National Hispanic Heritage Month from September 15 to October 15, by celebrating the contributions and importance of Hispanic and Latin@ people and those whose ancestors came from Spain, Mexico, the Caribbean, Central America, and South America.

In 1968, Congress authorized President Lyndon B. Johnson to proclaim a week in September as “National Heritage Week.” The observance was expanded in 1988 to a month-long celebration.

National Hispanic Heritage Month begins on September 15th because it is the anniversary of the independence of five Latin American countries: Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, and Nicaragua. Mexico and Chile celebrate their independence on September 16th and 18th, respectively. You can learn more about National Hispanic Heritage Month here

Demographics

According to the U.S. Census, the Hispanic or Latin@ population in the United States increased by 23% between 2010 and 2020. "In Vermont, it increased by 68.4%, or about 6300 individuals - the third largest percentage growth in the nation..."

We would like to honor community members in Vermont who come from Latin American countries including: Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Cuba, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Mexico, Nicaragua, Panama, Paraguay, Peru, Puerto Rico, Uruguay, and Venezuela. 

Latino, Latina, Latinx, Hispanic? What is the difference?

In Vermont, as in the rest of the United States, there are some who prefer certain terms over others. For more information about these distinctions, see the resources below. If you would like to add to this information, let us know.

What’s the difference between Hispanic, Latino and Latinx? | University of California

Latino, Hispanic, Latinx, Chicano: The History Behind the Terms - HISTORY

Additional Resources:

In honor of National Hispanic Heritage Month, the American Bar Association’s Diversity and Inclusion Advisory Council has launched the 21-Day Hispanic Heritage Equity Habit Building Challenge and we are joining them! 

 ABA-Wide 21-Day Hispanic Heritage Month Equity Habit-Building © Syllabus 

“Every moment is an organizing opportunity, every person a potential activist, every minute a chance to change the world. When you have a conflict, that means that there are truths that have to be addressed on each side of the conflict.” - Delores Huerta

Official Page: https://www.hispanicheritagemonth.gov/  

Whitehouse proclamation September 14, 2021 - https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefing-room/presidential-actions/2021/09/1…

Top 8 Reasons Why and How We Celebrate Hispanic Heritage Month

https://learninglab.si.edu/news/top-8-reasons-why-and-how-we-celebrate-hispanic-heritage-month 

Day 1

Our Identity: Hispanic or Latino/x

NBC News Article - Latinos own and disown 'Hispanic' in journey to harness identity

What Being Hispanic and Latinx Means in the United States - What Being Hispanic and Latinx Means in the United States | Fernanda Ponce | TEDxDeerfield 

Is it Hispanic, Chicano/Chicana, Latino/Latina, or Latinx?

https://www.exploratorium.edu/sites/default/files/Genial_2017_Terms_of_Usage.pdf

The Difference Between the Terms Latino and Hispanic, and How They Overlap

https://www.oprahdaily.com/life/a33395013/latino-vs-hispanic-meaning/

https://news.berkeley.edu/2014/04/29/hispanic-label/ 

Day 2

What are the different populations in the Hispanic Community 

https://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2019/09/16/key-facts-about-u-s-hispanics/

Facts about US Latinos for Hispanic Heritage Month            

Day 3

The Beautiful Spanish Language 

The History of the Spanish Language

The history of Spanish in about six minutes

Why don’t you speak Spanish?’: For Julián Castro and millions of Latinos, the answer is not so simple 

Can You Lose A Language You Never Knew? 

Latinos Who Never Learn Spanish May Struggle With Identity : Code Switch 

Day 4

Faith in the Hispanic Community

https://latinostudies.nd.edu/community/latino-spirituality/

https://www.nytimes.com/2014/05/08/upshot/even-as-hispanics-lift-catholicism-theyre-leaving-it.html

The Shifting Religious Identity of Latinos in the United States - https://www.pewforum.org/2014/05/07/the-shifting-religious-identity-of-latinos-in-the-united-states/ 

Day 5

Labor Movement

5 Hispanic Leaders Who Changed Labor History

https://blog.dol.gov/2021/09/15/5-hispanic-leaders-who-changed-labor-history

Celebrating the Rise of Hispanic Women Workers

https://blog.dol.gov/2021/09/17/celebrating-the-rise-of-hispanic-women-workers 

Dolores Huerta YouTube Video: https://youtu.be/28-bRl56KJk

Ted Talk: https://www.ted.com/talks/dolores_huerta_how_to_overcome_apathy_and_find_your_power

NPR Interview: https://www.npr.org/sections/thesalt/2017/09/17/551490281/dolores-huerta-the-civil-rights-icon-who-showed-farmworkers-si-se-puede 

Day 6

Education

Latinos and Education: Explaining the Attainment Gap

TED Talks Profile Latino Game Changers On an 'Education Revolution'

Latino Parents Value College More Than Anybody Else

Day 7

Health and Social Welfare

Opinion | Now Is a Time to Learn From Hispanic Americans (Published 2020)           [5 minute read]

​​Latinos Face Disproportionate Health and Economic Impacts From COVID-19           [14-minute read ]

Additional Materials:

For U.S. Latinos, COVID-19 Has Taken a Personal and Financial Toll           [17-minute read]

Day 8

Civil Rights 

Latino Civil Rights Timeline, 1903 to 2006 [13 minute read]

VOCES | The Chicano Rights Movement  [2:31 minute video]

Additional Material

What Was the Chicano Movement?  [5 minute read]

15 Latino Activists You Should Know And Read About   [17 min read]

Day 9

Voting Rights

PBS Showcases Willie Velásquez, Latino Voting Rights Hero    [8 minute read]

2020 Election: The voting power of Latino youth  [12-minute read + Video: 8:32]

Day 10

Afro Latinos

Afro-Latino: A deeply rooted identity among U.S. Hispanics [3-minute read]

16 Famous Afro-Latinos — Afro-Latinx Actors, Musicians, More  [9-minute read]

What Afro-Latinos Want You To Know  [3:41 minute video]

Additional Materials

Videos of Latino Latinx Poets Reading Poems About Race — 
[Video 1 =2:35 min; Video 2= 3.21; Video 3=5:14; Video 4 =3:36]

For Some Black People, The Term 'Latinx' Is Another Form of Erasure   [9-minute read]

“Latinx for Black Lives”Is Erasure, Not Allyship   [4 minute read]

5 ways to stop erasing black Latinxs  [3-minute read]

Day 11

Colorism in the Community

Colorism in the Latinx Community! Ft. Lee Chin | Decoded | MTV [5:29 minute video]

A Conversation With Latinos on Race | Op-Docs [6:41 minute video]

‘Corazón de América’ examines colorism in the Latin American community  [6:30 minute video]

Additional Materials

'In The Heights' Is Haunted By Latin America's History Of Colorism  [6-minute read]

Colorism In The Latino Community  [5-minute read]

Day 12

LGBTQ+ Intersectionality

Hispanic LGBTQ Individuals Encounter Heightened Discrimination
[9 minute read]

Double Discrimination: Latino and LGBTQ - CTLN 

Additional Materials

ABA Webinar: The Hispanic LGBTQ+ Community

https://www.americanbar.org/groups/diversity/commission_on_hispanic_legal_rights_responsibilities/Webinars/the-hispanic-lgbtq-community-one-year-after-bostock/  [1:30 minute video]

LIVING AUTHENTICALLY - 70 pages

LATINX LGBT ADULTS IN THE US LGBT Well-Being at the Intersection of Race - 72 pages 

Day 13

Hispanic/Asian Intersectionality 

This Boricua Is Being Forced To Defend Her Identity As An Asian-Puerto Rican On TikTok

https://wearemitu.com/wearemitu/culture/this-boricua-is-being-forced-to-defend-her-identity-as-an-asian-puerto-rican-on-tiktok/   [4 minute read]

How Chinese Immigrants Found Their Way to Puerto Rico     [3-minute read]

Asians in Latin America   [8 minutes]

Latin Asians | Asian American Life  [7-minute video]

Additional Materials

Being Asian and Latino (Article + NPR Podcast

https://www.latinousa.org/2019/04/09/asianlatino/   [25:118 min podcast]

Day 14

Breaking Barriers

5 Latinos Forging New Ground and Breaking Barriers [4 minute read]

Sonia Sotomayor - Associate Justice of the Supreme Court

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BDzhYlOpW64   [3-minute video]

How Rita Moreno Broke Barriers In Hollywood For Latinos | shift | MSNBC  [7-minute video]

Day 15

Prison Reform

Criminal Justice Reform [11-minute read]

2_Latinos — CRIMINAL JUSTICE REFORM: LATINOS AND IMMIGRANTS [13-minute read]

Additional Materials

Viewing Bad Hombres Documentary

https://decolonizejustice.org/videos/bad-hombres  
[35:34 minute video]

The story depicted in the new documentary series “Decolonize Justice,” represents the way police, prosecutors and courts have historically targeted people of color for incarceration in our country. This is the subject of the series’ anchor documentary, Bad Hombres: From Colonization to Criminalization.

Day 16

Musica!

Latin Music Guide: What Is Latin Music & Where Does It Come From? [13-minute read]
In Mariachi Music, A Distinctive Yell Speaks To The Soul  [5 minute read]

Mariachi: The history and journey of a musical genre [2:10 minute video]

Celia Cruz's 'Son Con Guaguancó' And The Bridge To Fame In Exile  [9-minute read]

Additional Materials

Cinco de Musica presented by the ABA Commission on Hispanic Legal Rights and Responsibilities

Cinco de Música

Day 17

Community and Family Dynamics 

Hispanic Millennials Are Closer To The Hispanic Culture Than Most Think               [5-minute read]

Family dynamics cause major stress for Latino immigrant families  [3-minute read]

Wealth Gaps between White, Black and Hispanic Families in 2019  [8-minute read]

Nine Charts about Wealth Inequality in America (Updated)  [9-minute read]

Additional Materials

Getting Back on Track: A Detailed Look at Health Coverage Trends for Latino Children

https://ccf.georgetown.edu/2021/06/08/health-coverage-trends-for-latino-children/  
[17 minute read]

How U.S. Hispanics Are Building Generational Wealth Through Homeownership - 

https://www.huffpost.com/entry/how-us-hispanics-are-building-generational-wealth-through-homeownership_n_5f15c169c5b6cec246c5fb6a  [4-minute read]

Latinx Files: How some Latinxs are looking to create generational wealth [8-minute read]

Day 18

Contributions to Literature, Poetry, and the Arts

9 Latino Poets You Should Be Reading - https://www.bustle.com/articles/150473-9-latino-poets-you-should-be-reading
[5 minute read]

U.S. Latinx Voices in Poetry - https://www.poetryfoundation.org/collections/144542/us-latinx-voices-in-poetry
[3 minute read] 

The Famous Hispanic Artists and Latino Creators You Should Get to Know   [10-minute read]

Day 19

Hispanic Heroes

15 Famous Latinos Who Will Inspire Your Kids  [7-minute read]

Hispanic Hero's you Should know    [1:14 minute video]

Day 20

Immigration

DACA

Updates and News About the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program for U.S. Immigrants - https://www.boundless.com/daca-news/
[Page includes 10 article links about DACA news (:46, 3 min, :44, 2 min, 1 min]

Additional Materials

ABA Webinar: Helping Dreamers Realize Their Dreams - the Nuts and Bolts of DACA

https://www.americanbar.org/groups/diversity/commission_on_hispanic_legal_rights_responsibilities/Webinars/daca-helping-dreamers-webinar/  [1.5-hour video]

Perception of perpetual foreigners

6 Harmful Stereotypes About Latin Americans - https://www.verywellmind.com/6-harmful-stereotypes-about-latin-americans-5113358  [4 minute read]

4 Latino stereotypes in TV and film that need to go [2-minute read]

Latinos in America: Daily lives beyond the stereotypes [3-minute video] 

Day 21

Hispanics -- The Future American Dream

The Future of the American Dream is Latino [3-minute read]

Latinos may be the key to future US economic growth, study argues  [3 minute read]

America's Future Is Hispanic. It's Time to Start Treating Us Like We Matter | Opinion  [4 minute read]

Latinos: A powerful force turbocharging small-business growth and driving $700 billion into the US economy [5 minute read]