Gwyn Nor Elementary School

A Little 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, Congress chose the week including September 15 and 16 National Hispanic Heritage Week to celebrate the contributions and achievements of the diverse cultures within the Hispanic community. 

In 1988, Senator Paul Simon (D-Illinois), submitted a similar bill that successfully passed Congress and was signed into law by President Ronald Reagan on August 17, 1988. 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.

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).

• The month aims to celebrate the histories, cultures, and contributions of American citizens whose ancestors came from Spain, Mexico, the Caribbean, and Central and South America.
• 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.
• According to Pew Research Center findings in 2020, there are about 62.1 million Hispanics in the U.S., making up 19% of the total population.  From 2010 to 2020, the U.S. population grew by about 23 million and Hispanics made up 51% of this increase.
• Eighteen percent of the U.S. population is Hispanic- which is the largest ethnic or racial minority in the country. While Hispanic and Latinx people have different cultures, the shared language of Spanish unites them. 
• In 2021, Forbes stated that more than 559 million people speak Spanish around the world. Out of that number, 460 million people are native speakers, making it the second largest population of native speakers behind Mandarin.
• Approximately 6.3% of the North Penn student population is Hispanic/Latine.