To celebrate Latinx Heritage Month, LBCC is hosting many virtual events during October.
One of them is a video premiere presented on the official Long Beach City College YouTube channel.
The Latinx premiere consisted of a video with students of the LBCC Latinx community discussing their backgrounds, the importance of Latinx Heritage Month, what it means to them personally to be Latinx, and how Latinos celebrate their heritage.
One of those influences is Dolores Huerta. She is one of the principal images of the Chicano civil rights and labor movements. Huerta fought for the development and improvement of the Chicano working poor, women, and children’s rights. She is the co-founder of the United Farmworkers.
Now, she is 90 years old and still living an activist life to help others.
In the video premiere, Huerta said, “I like to celebrate Latino Heritage Month by just telling everyone about all the contributions that Latinos have made to help build the United States of America, and also asking them to Google the map of the United States before 1848.
“A third of the United States was Mexico. So this is a good way to celebrate, educate, and inform and let people know how great we Hispanics are, because we are a ‘sí se puede’ nation.”
By “sí se puede nation,” she referred to a famous slogan that is told around the majority of Hispanic countries. It translates to “yes, we can do it,” alluding to that the Latin community can do everything.
Lou Anne Bynum, interim superintendent-president, said “Long Beach City College is proud to be a Hispanic serving institution.”
The video ended with powerful statements of the Viking Latinx community. Some members shared their experiences of being part of this community, and others informed about their culture and practices.
Overall, everyone emphasized that all Latinx members should feel proud of where they come from, their history, and what their culture offers to the world.
More information about future events regarding the Latinx Heritage Month can be found at https://www.lbcc.edu/latinx.