The second largest racial or ethnic group in the United States, Hispanic heritage covers more than 62 million people. This Hispanic and Latino Heritage Month – September 15 to October 15 – is an important time to learn more about their cultures, histories and contributions.
It’s also a good opportunity to explore two key elements of Hispanic culture: family and food. Both are central to these vibrant, cherished traditions that have helped shape American culture and society.
Hispanic heritage is more than just a month-long celebration, however. It’s a time to educate ourselves and our children about the rich history, cultures and significant contributions of Hispanics in the United States and around the world.
For example, the National Museum of Mexican Art (Opens in new tab) has a virtual exhibition highlighting some of the country’s top artists. This includes Mexican painter Diego Rivera, whose depictions of the Mexican revolution and its aftermath are considered among his most powerful works.
Other museums have online exhibits that provide in-depth information about a particular topic or era. The National Park Service’s American Latino Heritage Theme Study, (Opens in new tab) for instance, features essays and resources about a range of eras, topics and regions.
Despite their contributions, there are still gaps in the understanding of Hispanic and Latino Americans. In fact, a 2022 study by the Pew Research Center found that many Americans have a misunderstanding of what it means to be Hispanic or Latino. For example, the study reported that in the 1930s, door-to-door Census Bureau workers asked Latinos to mark themselves as Mexican, Puerto Rican, Cuban or other Spanish. The report suggested that some people misunderstood the questions and marked themselves as other Spanish instead of one of the five specific groups.
Today, four-in-five Latinos living in the United States are U.S. citizens, and they represent more than a quarter of the nation’s population. This is a huge increase from the 2010 census when only seven-in-five were U.S. citizens.
There are a number of reasons for this increase in the Latino population, but perhaps the most significant is that more and more of them are becoming parents. In the last decade, there’s been a surge in the number of babies born to Latino parents. And the numbers continue to rise.
While there are a lot of exciting things happening in the Latino community, there is still much work to be done. For example, research shows that median wealth for Latino families is about five times lower than that of white families. And sadly, the rate of incarceration for young Latinos is higher than the rate for white youth. We can do better for our community, and we need to start with education.