540 Celebrates Hispanic Heritage in September

Dear Community,

September is recognized as Hispanic Heritage Month and we are excited to celebrate all month long with a roster of classes and digital content that recognizes the depth, richness, and culture of hispanics and latino/a/e in Rochester, the United States, and abroad.

a brief history

According to the website HispanicHeritageMonth.gov the observance originally started as Hispanic Heritage Week in 1968 under President Lyndon Johnson. The week was expanded by President Ronald Reagan in 1988 to cover a 30-day period starting on September 15 and ending on October 15. It was enacted into law on August 17, 1988, with the approval of Public Law 100-402. The day of September 15 is significant because it is the anniversary of independence for Latin American countries Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, and Nicaragua. In addition, Mexico and Chile celebrate their independence days on September 16 and September 18, respectively. Also, Columbus Day or Día de la Raza, which is October 12, falls within this 30-day period.

making connections

It’s an ongoing goal for the 540Team to create deeper and more robust relationships with our Spanish-speaking neighbors (vecinas que hablan Español) and community members. What this looks like is classes that feature the experiences and stories of those that identify as Hispanic, latino/a, Afro-Latino, indigenous and so many others. Additionally, we are working hard to create print materials and digital content in both English and Spanish and eventually Spanish translation for our online classes.

what you can expect

This month you can expect three classes that spotlight the rich history, culture, and stories of those who identity as  latino/a. Check out the classes below and be sure to register to be a part of these conversations.

in-person class 

First up is our in-person class titled Decolonizing Latinidad taking place at the Rochester Brainery on Thursday, September 8 from 5pm-7pm

This class will provide participants with different perspectives on the celebration of Hispanic Heritage Month. Course content will focus on the multifaceted, complex nature of Latine identities and delve into how colonization abruptly homogenized a wide range of people from different geographical regions and a multitude of languages and cultures. Emphasis will be placed on Black and Indigenous identities and how they intersect with Latinidad. Participants and panelists alike will be given the opportunity to discuss how they developed pride in their identities and connect with those who have had similar experiences.

In this course, you will begin to understand practices that reject colonization and whiteness as the norm. We will look at the terms decolonization, feminism, and ancestral knowledge that describe active processes of resistance. This course will orient your understanding of these global terms by analyzing how they are used in the Abya Yala region of the world. Learning about these active processes opens up a dialogue around the concept of indigeneity in conversations of identity-making. By understanding decolonization, feminism, and ancestral knowledge as tools/processes, we can begin to embrace indigeneity as a part of our identity-making which is not reinforced by whiteness.

Click here to register

About Calvin Eaton

(he/his/him) Calvin Eaton is a disabled community educator, content creator, and social entrepreneur, whose area of expertise includes antiracism, equity, justice, instructional design, and program development. In 2016 Mr. Eaton founded 540WMain, Inc. a virtual non-profit organization and antiracist education brand that promotes justice for all.