What is Latinx Heritage Month?

Latinx Heritage Month takes place from September 15th to October 15th and honors the history, culture, and contributions of Latinx Americans. 

The observance began as Hispanic Heritage Week in the late 1960s under President Lyndon Johnson. In 1988 President Regan extended the observance to include the weeks of September 15 to October 15.

September 15 marks the anniversary of independence for several Latin American countries, including Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, and Nicaragua. Mexico and Chile also celebrate their independence days on September 16 and September 18, respectively.

Explore resources from Teach For America's partners for teaching and celebrating Latinx Heritage month in your classroom and community.

Why we say Latinx:

At Teach For America, we aspire to be an all-inclusive organization. This is why our community has decided to use the term Latinx. The "x" makes the word “Latino” gender-neutral and inclusive of genders outside of the male-female binary.

Latinx includes people of Latin American descent of diverse cultural, national, racial, indigenous, and linguistic backgrounds. Additionally, the term is inclusive of individuals whose gender identities fluctuate along different points of the spectrum from agender or nonbinary to gender nonconforming, genderqueer, genderfluid, and intersex. 

To learn more about the origins of “Latinx,” listen to this interview from Latino USA

Latinx Intersectionality Resources

Intersectionality is a term coined by Black feminist and Columbia Law School professor, Kimberlé W. Crenshaw. Crenshaw describes intersectionality as "a lens through which you can see where power comes and collides, where it interlocks and intersects. It’s not simply that there’s a race problem here, a gender problem here, and a class or LBGTQ problem there. Many times that framework erases what happens to people who are subject to all of these things."

• Futuro Media Group: Podcast on Latinx Intersectionality
• AANHPI and Latinx Intersectionality 
• Black and Latinx Intersectionality
• Disabilities and Latinx Intersectionality
• Immigrant and Latinx Intersectionality
• LGBTQ+ and Latinx Intersectionality
• Military Veteran and Latinx Intersectionality
• Native Indigenous and Latinx Intersectionality

Resources for Teachers

National Hispanic Heritage Month Web Portal

Explore selected resources for teachers curated by the Library of Congress and the National Endowment for the Humanities, National Gallery of Art, National Park Service, Smithsonian Institution, United States Holocaust Memorial Museum and U.S. National Archives and Records Administration

Partner Resources

• First Book: 
  • Great Ways to Celebrate Hispanic Heritage Month 
• Smithsonian Latino Center: 
  • ​​​​​​​Hispanic Heritage Month Resources
  • Teaching and Learning Resources 
• GLSEN: 
  • ​​​​​​​Latinx LGBTQ Youth in U.S. Schools 
  • Latinx Heritage Month Video
• White House Initiative on Advancing Educational Equity, Excellence, and Economic Opportunity for Hispanics: 
  • ​​​​​​​National Hispanic Heritage Month Resources 
  • Nominate a Latinx educator for their #LatinosTeach online campaign

Resources for College Students & Young Professionals

• Latinx Scholarships & College Readiness Resources
• Latinx Alliances Partners & Collaborators Career Resources

Events & Activities Archive

• Watch the Hispanic Heritage Foundation's Hispanic Heritage Awards on PBS 
• We Are All Human Foundation - The Hispanic Star:
  • Hispanic Heritage Month Toolkit
  • Hispanic Heritage Month Event and Activity Calendar