This September, National Hispanic-Latine Heritage Month is guiding our learning to inform our work deeper, drive conversations internally, and prompt more reflection as we also celebrate National Voter Registration Day (September 19th).
The Latine community – the nation’s second largest racial or ethnic group behind non-Hispanic White Americans – and its history and culture are celebrated from September 15th through October 15th, so we wanted to gain a deeper understanding of the community and how we can inform our thinking and advocacy around issues affecting various segments of this pan-ethnic group.
Resources we are finding especially relevant and informative this month are:
NBCU Academy | Understanding Hispanic Heritage
This video paints a great picture of the diversity of the Latine community in the U.S. and how the heritage month was established – especially why the month starts in the middle of September. We appreciated the highlights of various identities, nationalities, languages, races, and terminology preferences that point to the complexity of this group.
Pew Research Center | Facts on Latinos in the U.S.
Data is crucial to our everyday work, so this site was very interesting to read, from learning about the total population in the U.S. and top states with Latine populations to demographic information related to age, gender, education, health, and economics.
History.com | 6 Groups That Advanced Latino Voting Rights
We are fans of so many of the organizations presented in this article. The work to advance voting rights and civic participation is crucial to our democracy, and these groups have historically launched important campaigns and advocacy efforts to fight gerrymandering and other suppressive practices while expanding the Latine electorate in the U.S.
The Chronicle of Philanthropy | Latino Charitable Giving Rates Drop Sharply – but That’s Not the Full Story
This article helped us reframe our own thinking when it comes to how the Latine community engages in giving and philanthropic efforts. The results of this study by Hispanics in Philanthropy – a pivotal initiative since there is a lack of research in this area – paint a clearer and more complex picture of the Latine community’s giving trends. In particular, while traditional charitable donations have decreased, Latine people seem to give in higher rates compared to other groups when combined with informal giving.