Sep 15, 2009 2:08 pm US/Pacific
Celebrate Hispanic Heritage Month
(CBS 5)
Hispanic Heritage Month begins Sept. 15th and runs through Oct. 15th.
In 1968, President Lyndon B. Johnson proclaimed that the second week of September be recognized as "Hispanic Heritage Week." He encouraged educators to spread the word.
Twenty years later, lawmakers decided to expand the celebration to thirty days. Hispanic Heritage Month is designed to recognize the achievements and contributions of Hispanic Americans.
On September 15, 1821, Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras and Nicaragua each claimed their independence.
Mexico and Chile followed on September 16th and 18th, respectively, while La Dia de la Raza (also known as Columbus Day to Americans) is celebrated two days before the end of Hispanic Heritage Month.
Literally "The Day of the Race," it commemorates the ethnic and cultural influences that make Hispanic heritage so distinctive and colorful.
According to the Census Bureau, almost 15 percent of the U.S. population identifies with the term Hispanic. Yet most Americans know little about Latino and Latina history.
Dedicating a month to the celebration of cultures that increasingly influence American society teaches us to not only understand, but also to reclaim, the unique identities of an ethnic mosaic that exists in the United States.
(© MMIX, CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved.(Don't know if we need this last one, but never know.))
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