Hispanic-Latine Heritage Month

As our team celebrates National Hispanic-Latine Heritage Month, we found a variety of resources to inform our work deeper, drive conversations internally, and prompt more reflection. Celebrated from September 15 through October 15, this heritage month honors and uplifts the nation’s second largest racial or ethnic group behind non-Hispanic White Americans. As we learned more about Hispanic and Latine history and culture, we also wanted to gain a deeper understanding of initiatives and leaders around the nation who are centering and uplifting the community through their work.

Resources we are finding especially relevant and informative this month are:

 

The Library of Congress | National Hispanic American Heritage Month

National Hispanic Heritage Month began as a week in 1968 under President Johnson and was expanded to a month in 1988 by President Reagan. September 15 marks the independence anniversaries of several Latin American countries and in the U.S., we celebrate the histories and contributions of Americans with ancestry from Spain, Mexico, the Caribbean, and Central and South America. In addition to historical resources, this website contains information on events, exhibitions, and other organizations uplifting the Hispanic and Latine community, such as the National Museum of the American Latino.

University of Houston (UH) | Recovering the US Hispanic Literary Heritage

Known as Recovering, this global program focuses on preserving and sharing the written Hispanic culture of the U.S. from colonial times to 1980. It holds a vast collection of books, manuscripts, newspapers, photographs, and other historical materials, and has published over 50 historical books, anthologies, and research volumes. The program also hosts a biennial international conference and has a network of around 5,000 scholars, librarians, and archivists. We recommend browsing through some of the exhibits and collections—there are many important stories that can inspire Americans from any background.

Mellon Foundation | Building Bridges with Latinx Studies

Talent Citizen client the Mellon Foundation has supported various initiatives in the Department of Latin American and Latino Studies (LALS) at the University of Illinois at Chicago. Since its founding in response to 1970s student protests, the department has become a hub for research, teaching, and community engagement on Latine/x issues. With a $5 million grant in 2021, LALS established the Crossing Latinidades consortium, a collaborative network of 16 Hispanic-Serving Institutions (HSI) for interdisciplinary research and doctoral student training. Most recently, a $100,000 grant will help LALS launch a speaker series, public events, and expand its community outreach. To celebrate its 50th anniversary, LALS will host the Activism and the Founding of the Latina/o Studies Symposium this fall.

Eventbrite | Paola Velez Celebrates Bodega Bakes with Ashley Huston

Paola Velez, a James Beard Award-nominated pastry chef and one of Food & Wine’s 2021 best new chefs, is the founder of the pop-up dining series Doña Dona and Dōekï Dōekï and cofounder of the grassroots social action network Bakers Against Racism. Her debut cookbook Bodega Bakes combines her Dominican heritage with her New York City roots and features over 100 recipes ranging from traditional Caribbean desserts to American classics with a twist. For anyone in the Philadelphia area, on Thursday, October 3 at 5:30pm EST, Velez will host a discussion and book signing with Ashley Huston, founder of DreamWorld Bakes, a custom cake studio & soon to be bakery. There’s a limited quantity of tickets, so be sure to register.