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Friend,
Since 1968, the histories, cultures and contributions of the Latinx community to the United States are celebrated during National Hispanic Heritage Month. For many people in the Latinx community, this month (Sept. 15 to Oct. 15) is about pride for who they are and honoring their roots.
For Maria del Rosario Palacios, who lives in Georgia but was born in Michoacán, Mexico, this month brings a time for reflection. Palacios’ parents were migrant farmworkers in the U.S. during the 1980s and 1990s, but her father wanted her to be born in Mexico, even though they had established a home in the U.S. by this time. Palacios, who is 32 and uses she and they pronouns, grew up in Georgia and is now employed in the nonprofit sector.
“I come from a very humble family background and have always loved and appreciated living in this country,” she told the Southern Poverty Law Center. “All that I have been capable of doing here has been made possible by my parents who have a third-grade education level, and who have worked in food manufacturing throughout their lives.”
But Palacios understands that while the contributions the Latinx community has made to the U.S. are invaluable, not all of them get noticed – a problem that has long plagued her and her peers. Recognizing Latinx people as individuals is a problem, she said.
“This month is great because there are national efforts to recognize Latinx contributions, but it’s often done in a way that is a bit tokenizing, to be honest,” she said. “One month is better than nothing, but our community helps significantly – and that often goes overlooked.
“I don’t think we’re fully recognized as people, so until we give people the true opportunity to have real representation – in our schools, our government – our needs aren’t being honored, and we aren’t being recognized.”
Palacios’ comments also come at a time when the Latinx community is facing intense demonization by elected officials and other public figures. The governors of two large states – Texas and Florida – have recently made headlines for transporting Latin American migrants to other states to protest immigration policy.
Their actions come after other elected officials have fearmongered during election years about protecting the country from Latin American “migrant caravans” arriving at the southern border. It also comes years after Donald Trump launched a successful presidential campaign by infamously declaring Mexico is sending criminals and rapists to the United States.
‘Myriad of individuals’
Despite the “othering” of the Latinx community for political gain, it’s a community tightly woven within the fabric of the United States. Currently, 60 million people in the U.S. identify as Hispanic or Latino, representing 18% of the population, and are therefore becoming the minority with the largest presence.
These figures have increased substantially over the years, with the influence of Latinx culture sliding into different aspects of American society at the end of the 1960s, when the Chicano Movement, otherwise known as El Movimiento, advocated for social and political equality through their shared culture.
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In solidarity,
Your friends at the Southern Poverty Law Center
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