From the Spanish’s incursions into what would become North Carolina, to the centuries during which what would become Florida was owned by the Spanish, to the role of Spain during the French and Indian War (they sided with the French), to the role of Latin-Americans in the military of the United States during the Second World War, it’s clear that Latinos have played a noteworthy role in the history and development of the United States, albeit in minor ways. The purpose of this post is to spend some time talking about ways that I think we can improve our knowledge of Latinos in the history of the United States. As usual I’d love to hear your opinions and receive any feedback you’d like to give me or my thought processes!

Collaborations And Cooperation Among Latino Historians And Historians Of Latin-American History:

The most basic way I can think to improve our collective understanding and appreciation of the role of Latinos and Latin-American nations relative to our national history is to do things that increase the amount of collaborations and cooperation among historians of Latin-America and historians who are focused on Latinos in the United States. A simple way to do this is to increase the number of institutions with Latino studies programs, increase the number of conferences starring historians of Latino history, and work to help draw extra attention to historians of this often under-discussed history who publish work that can help overturn misguided narratives that erase the impact of Latin-America and Latin-Americans on this nation’s history.

The purpose of these conferences, networks, and institutions is simple: increase the ability of historians to develop professionally and gain audiences while also improving their networks and friendships among their fellow historians with similar fields of study and subjects they are interested in.

Create Plans That Seek To Highlight The Impact Of Latinos On Estadounidense History Throughout The Year:

Rather than attempting to cram a year of heritage and history into a single month, organizations that revolve around Latinos in the United States ought to plan cultural and historical events and presentations in the public eye throughout the year rather than just in mid September until mid October. And I know that this isn’t as easy as it sounds, but it’s a simple reality that organizations that dedicate themselves to preserving Latin-American culture and an awareness of Latin-American history in the United States need to accept.

Hispanic Heritage Month is neat and can be a great tool for getting a significant amount of media and social media attention but it shouldn’t be the time of year that groups plan a ton of activity and afterwards and before have a schedule of the occasional event a month or every two months. Hispanic and Latino cultural groups need to have consistent schedules and activities and instead use Hispanic Heritage Month as a time to focus heavily on social media, encouraging their followers to make sure that they see the social media posts of the group first, and encourage their followers, friends, and audiences to utilize their digital social media rather than just overwhelming their audiences with a ton of events for a single month a year. Make September and October be when your followers engage you for the first time on social media by giving them information and things they can use to be stay active and energetic when it comes to gaining new knowledge.

Hispanic Heritage Month is also a great time to demand that attention be paid through local conventional media to Hispanic and Latino cultural groups, and to train new leaders, but not to be the focus of any single group’s budget or energy. Using all you have in a single burst might be easy but it’ll also ensure that your group and your community struggles to stay engaged and ready to learn.

Be Ambitious And Be Willing To Create Networks And Groups:

The simple reality is that not all communities have networks which exist to educate people about Latino and/or Hispanic culture. In many cases, such as in smaller towns and in places that lack organized Latino/Hispanic communities, it will take brave people who are willing to start these groups themselves in order to educate people as to the impact of Latinos and Hispanics in the United States. And it’ll be tough. It might end in failure the first time, or take longer than anyone anticipated, but it’s worth it. It’s worth the work it takes. Educating people and creating communities is always worth the hardship it requires.

In Conclusion:

Let’s talk about this in the comments section down below. I want to hear what you all think! Let’s talk about ways that we can educate our community and ourselves when it comes to the role that Latinos had in this country’s history.

I know, this was a basic post, but it’s still worth talking about. If you learned something new because of the links I used I’d love to know what you learned!