National Hispanic Heritage Month celebrates and recognizes Hispanic American contributions to US society and culture. Designated in 1968 when Congress passed Pub. L. 90-498 authorizing and requesting the President to issue an annual proclamation of National Hispanic Heritage during mid-September. September 15th marks the anniversary of independence for the Latin American countries of Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua, and Mexico celebrates its independence on September 16th.
President Lyndon Johnson issued the first such proclamation External in 1968. Between 1969 and 1988, Presidents Nixon, Ford, Carter, and Reagan issued a series of annual proclamations designating a week in September as National Hispanic Heritage Week. In 1988, Congress passed Pub. L. 100-402 [PDF] which amended Pub. L. 90-498 and established National Hispanic Heritage Month from September 15th to October 15th. Between 1990 and 2009, Presidents George H.W. Bush, Bill Clinton, George W. Bush, and Barack Obama issued annual proclamations for National Hispanic Heritage Month.
September 17, 1968
Gonzalez of Texas meets with President Lyndon B. Johnson in 1968 at the White House.
(Image courtesy of the National Archives and Records AdministrationRepresentative Henry)
On this date, President Lyndon Baines Johnson signed the National Hispanic Heritage Week bill (P.L. 90–498) into law. In the 90th Congress (1967–1969), Representative George Edward Brown of California submitted H.J. Res. 1299, easily passing the House; the bill authorized the President to designate the week of September 15 as “National Hispanic Heritage Week.” During subsequent celebrations of Hispanic Heritage Week, Presidents issued public statements and hosted receptions while praising the contributions of Hispanic Americans to U.S. society. The Congressional Hispanic Caucus celebrated the week by citing examples of Hispanic-American contributions to the United States, drawing media attention to legislative interests for Hispanic Americans, and networking with grassroots and civil rights activists inside and outside the Hispanic-American community. In 1987, Representative Esteban Torres of California submitted H.R. 3182, a bill to expand Hispanic Heritage Week into a Hispanic Heritage Month. In his remarks, Torres noted that supporters of the legislation “want the American people to learn of our heritage. We want the public to know that we share a legacy with the rest of the country, a legacy that includes artists, writers, Olympic champions, and leaders in business, government, cinema, and science.” The month-long celebration, according to Torres, “will allow our Nation to properly observe and coordinate events and activities to celebrate Hispanic culture and achievement.” Although Torres’s bill died in committee, Senator Paul Simon of Illinois submitted S. 2200, a similar bill that amended P.L. 90–468. The Senate bill passed Congress and President Ronald W. Reagan signed it into law on August 17, 1988. One year after its passage, Representative Dale Kildee of Michigan paid tribute to Hispanic-American constituents in his district in a House Floor speech, noting that celebrants not only recognized Hispanic-American contributions to U.S. culture, “we are also commemorating the growth of our Nation’s culture, vastly broadened and enriched by its Hispanic citizens.”