From September 15th to October 15th, the United States celebrates the historical and cultural impacts made by the Hispanic community across the country. In honor of those who have made a difference in the melting pot, we remember those who have paved the way for current and future Hispanic Americans.Â
Caesar Chavez (1927-1993) & Dolores Huetra (1930-)
Caesar Chavez was born and raised in Yuma, Arizona, as a first-generation American. When he was a child, Chavez’s family lost their farm, forcing his father to become a migrant worker. After years of this lifestyle, Chavez’s father sustained an injury that no longer allowed him to work. Not wanting his mother to work in the fields, Chavez dropped out of school after 8th grade to start working in the fields. Around the same time in Stockton, California, Dolores Huerta was being raised by a single mother who was working two jobs. Having both faced discrimination for being Mexican-American, as well as having a shared passion for organizing farm workers, Chavez and Huerta founded the National Farm Workers Association (NFWA) in 1962. Today, it is known as the United Farm Workers (UFW). Through this organization, they both fought for higher wages, health and unemployment benefits, and safer working conditions for all farm workers. The UFW continues to fight against injustices through non-violent protests.Â
Sylvia Rivera (1951-2002)
Sylvia Rivera was raised by her maternal grandmother after the loss of her mother. Having been assigned male at birth, Rivera struggled with her identity throughout her childhood. She was bullied in school for wearing makeup and using feminine clothing. Not only was she discriminated against at school, but she would also get physically assaulted for her identity at home. After running away from home at eleven, Rivera faced homelessness and sexual exploitation. In 1963, at the age of twelve, Rivera finally found refuge when she met an African American drag queen, Marsha P. Johnson. When Rivera was seventeen, she joined Johnson in the Stonewall Uprising, a series of riots over the police action against Stonewall Inn, a gay bar in New York. Despite facing transgender discrimination in the LGBTQ+ community, Rivera continued to fight against transphobia. In 1971, she started the Street Transvestite Action Revolutionaries (STAR). It was a space for the transgender community in New York City. STAR fed, clothed, and housed many people during its time. In 1973, Rivera gave her “Y’all Better Quite Down” speech, after being shunned for bringing up racial and economic issues within the LGBTQ+ community. Rivera lived and died as a pioneering activist for minority rights.Â
 John J. Herrera (1910-1986)
Born as a descendant to one of the original 14 families to settle in San Antonio, Herrera lived his adult life as a lawyer and civil rights advocate for Mexican Americans. In 1948, Herrera represented Minerva Delgado in Delgado v Bastrop ISD regarding the segregation of Mexican American children in schools in Texas. At this point in time, the Texan law “separate but equal” stood for Anglos and African Americans, but not Mexican Americans. Herrera’s team argued that the segregation of Mexican American children from white children violated the U.S. Constitution’s Fourteenth Amendment. The judge ruled in favor of Delgado, deeming it illegal to separate children based on color. Herrera was an officer of the League of United Latin American Citizens (LULAC), an organization made to uplift the health and civil rights of the Hispanic population in the U.S. During his time in LULAC, Herrera established 53 new councils in Texas, New Mexico, and Arizona. Herrera spent his entire life being a key advocate for Mexican American civil rights.Â
The efforts, hardships and losses by these individuals are celebrated during Hispanic Heritage Month, but their legacies are to be remembered forever. In times like these where those of Hispanic/Latino descent struggle, we must remember to continue fighting the battle that those before us fought against. Vivian los hispanos, y viva América.