Hispanic Heritage month began this past Monday, Sept. 15. This celebration began in the 60s at the height of many Civil Rights Movement. In response to this, many political leaders began to advocate for a week to honor all of the contributions the Hispanic community has made in America. They were successful in establishing a week for the festivities, but many wanted more time. This is because many believed a month would allow a better celebration since they would have more time to coordinate certain events. Eventually George H. W Bush made it possible for this to happen, and Hispanic Heritage Month was then extended to September 15th through October 15th. With that change, the Hispanic community now has a month long celebration aimed at honoring the culture and praising those in the community for all of their accomplishments.
This celebration has grown in many communities. RMHS has also played a part in celebrating Hispanic Heritage within its walls . The Student BELT organization and the library have teamed up, and together they are working to display all of the important aspects of Hispanic culture. There are displays with colorful decorations, books written in Spanish, and books featuring Latinx characters.
“It is important for students to see these displays, so we can celebrate our Latinx students and their culture,” Ms. Shaw, the RMHS librarian explained. “We have a diverse Mustang community and we love celebrating our student groups!”
In addition to all the library is doing for the month Latinos Unidos has also been working to celebrate. They will be having paletas during lunch and after school September 18th and 19th, and they will be hosting a Latino movie night Wednesday October 8th. The movie will be in the black box featuring the movie Sobrevivendo mis XV.
All of the work done by clubs and staff this Hispanic Heritage Month will allow RMHS students to learn about this important culture that plays a huge role in the school. As a diverse school it is important to celebrate Hispanic culture and history.