Hispanic Heritage Month: Did You Know?

Did you know …?

Official celebration of Hispanic Heritage

Originally, a weeklong celebration, Hispanic Heritage Week was proclaimed in 1968 by President Lyndon Johnson. It was later, in 1988, when Congress established the celebration of an annual Hispanic Heritage Month recognizing the contributions and heritage of people of Hispanic or Latino descent to the culture and society of the United States. Hispanics are a diverse group and include people whose roots are traced to Spain, and the Spanish-speaking countries of North, Central, South America and the Caribbean areas.

Annually, Hispanic Heritage Month is celebrated during the period of September 15-October 15. During the one-month observance, people recognize the heritage, accomplishments and contributions of Hispanics to the United States. Celebrations begins in September 15^th, which coincides with the independence of various Latin American countries: Costa Rica, Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua. The period also includes the celebration of the independence of Mexico (September 16) and Chile (September 18).
Historical facts

Historically, Spanish presence in the United States dates back to the 16th Century when early Spanish explorers began their explorations followed by settlements in places across what is today California, Arizona, New Mexico, Texas and Florida, among others. Florida owes its name to the explorations of Juan Ponce de León, who arrived to the peninsula in 1513, around April 2 or 8, and named it La Florida (the flowery one), to honor Easter time.
Demographical facts

Today, the United States of America is home to over 57.5 million people of Hispanic heritage. People of Hispanic origin and descent comprise over 17% of the US population and constitute the second largest ethnic group in the nation (Census Bureau, 2017). According to census projections, by 2060, Hispanics will be about 28.6 percent of the US population.

Across the United States, Hispanic presence is found in almost every state. States with the largest percentage of Hispanic population are Arizona, California, Colorado, Florida, Illinois, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York and Texas (Census Bureau, 2016).

Hispanic students at NSU

Nationally, Hispanics represent 22.7% of students. Nova Southeastern University is the largest private, not-for- profit institution in the United States that meets the U.S. Department of Education’s criteria as a Hispanic-serving institution (2017 NSU Annual Report, P. 71). Records show that 27.2 of students at NSU are Hispanic (2018 NSU Fact Book, page 105).

References:

Facts for Features: Hispanic Heritage Month 2017 (2017) https://www.census.gov/newsroom/facts-for-features/2017/hispanic-heritage.html

American fact finder (2016). https://factfinder.census.gov/faces/tableservices/jsf/pages/productview.xhtml?src=bkmk

Florida Facts. European exploration and colonization. Florida Department of State (2018)

https://www.dos.myflorida.com/florida-facts/florida-history/a-brief-history/european-exploration-and-colonization/

Number of Hispanic students (Census, 2017)

https://www.census.gov/library/stories/2017/10/hispanic-enrollment.html

Origins of Hispanic Heritage Month

https://www.loc.gov/law/help/commemorative-observations/hispanic-heritage.php