Hispanic Heritage Month
September 15 - October 15
Pioneers of Change: Shaping the Future Together
National Hispanic Heritage Month honors the culture, heritage, and contributions of Hispanic Americans each year. Hispanic Heritage Month is celebrated from September 15 to October 15 each year.
A Brief History
Hispanic Heritage Month began as a commemorative week when it was introduced in June of 1968 by California Congressman George E. Brown. Representative Brown represented East Los Angeles and a large portion of the San Gabriel Valley which were both heavily populated by members of the Hispanic and Latinx communities. He wanted to recognize the influence members of these communities played throughout American history. In September 1968, during Lyndon B. Johnson's presidential administration, Congress chose the week including September 15 and 16 to celebrate the contributions and achievements of the diverse cultures within the Hispanic community, creating National Hispanic Heritage Week.
The dates were chosen to commemorate two key historic events:
- Independence Day, honoring the formal signing of the Act of Independence for Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, and Nicaragua (September 15, 1821)
- Mexico's Independence Day, which denotes the beginning of the struggle against Spanish control (September 16, 1810)
On September 14, 1989, President George H.W. Bush (who had been a sponsor of the original Hispanic Heritage Week resolution while serving in the House in 1968) became the first president to declare the month-long celebration from September 15 to October 15 as National Hispanic Heritage Month.
Did You Know?
- Hispanic Heritage Heritage Month, is also referred to as Latinx Heritage Month or Latine Heritage Month. The gender-neutral term Latine is used to describe the full spectrum of the community.
- Hispanic and Latinx are not synonymous- The label “Hispanic” refers to people who speak Spanish and/or are descended from Spanish-speaking populations. This is contrasted by “Latino” (or Latina, Latinx. Latine), which refers to people who are from or descended from people from Latin America.
- Love your cowboy hats? You have Mexican and Spanish ranchers or "rancheros" to thank for that! The traditions, which originated in Mexico and Spain, come from hard-working farmers hwo used cowboy hats as they worked over their crops and livestock.
- 19% of the US population is Hispanic- which is the largest ethnic or racial minority in the country. Approximately 9.3% of the NPSD student population is Hispanic/Latinx.
- Spanish is the second most spoken language in the United States, second to the English language.
General Information
Teaching Resources
- ADL Hispanic Heritage Month Resources for Teachers K-12
- Latinx Heritage Month Teaching Resources to Use All Year Long- K-12
- Telling All American Stories- Latino Themes Study
- Hispanic and Latino Heritage and History in the United States
- Cuba in My Pocket
- 20 Influential Hispanic Americans Who Have Made History
- 20 Latinx Books that Should be on your Shelf
- Latinx Children's Books