Speaker 1: Welcome to Brainstuff, a production of I Heart Radio, Hey
Speaker 1: brain Stuff, Lauren Boglebaum. Here here in the United States,
Speaker 1: it's Hispanic Heritage Month, but which officially began as Hispanic
Speaker 1: Heritage Week in ninety eight. Unlike many other campaigns that
Speaker 1: observe and honor the contributions of a particular group of Americans,
Speaker 1: Hispanic Heritage Month doesn't run throughout September, but rather starts
Speaker 1: on September fift and continues through mid October. So why
Speaker 1: does it start in the middle of the month. Well
Speaker 1: of Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, and Nicaragua all
Speaker 1: celebrate their Independence Day on September. Mexico's is on September,
Speaker 1: Chile's September eight, and belize Independence Day is September twenty one,
Speaker 1: and by stretching into October, the holiday also includes Dia
Speaker 1: de la Razza on October twelve, which is a kind
Speaker 1: of rejection of Columbus Day because of Christopher Columbus's many
Speaker 1: crimes against humanity and see our episode on Columbus Day
Speaker 1: for more about that. Dia de Larrazza instead celebrates the
Speaker 1: melding of Hispanic races or raza and cultures. In honor
Speaker 1: of Hispanic Heritage Month, Let's talk about three times that
Speaker 1: Hispanic Americans have changed the course of U s history.
Speaker 1: Some three hundred years after Spanish conquerors became the first
Speaker 1: non native Americans to view the Mississippi River and later
Speaker 1: the Grand Canyon, when Josef Marian Hernandez helped smooth the
Speaker 1: transfer of the territory of Florida into US rule. Florida
Speaker 1: was still part of Spain when Hernandez was born in St.
Speaker 1: Augustine in seventeen eighty four, but that changed when he
Speaker 1: was selected to serve in the House of Representatives and
Speaker 1: was sworn into duty in eighteen twenty three, as the
Speaker 1: first Hispanic person to serve in Congress. In historical context,
Speaker 1: Hernandez being a slave owner is a controversial figure. Still,
Speaker 1: he remains the first of a hundred and twenty eight
Speaker 1: Hispanic people to serve in the US Congress. Maybe of
Speaker 1: more relevance today is the first Hispanic senator elected to
Speaker 1: a full terming Congress, New Mexico's Denis Chavez. In but
Speaker 1: we spoke with Paul Orretz, a historian at the University
Speaker 1: of Florida. He said in addition to being the first
Speaker 1: American born Hispanic senator, He's critical for the time we
Speaker 1: live in because he fought on behalf of all working
Speaker 1: class equally. He fought for higher wages legislation. He fought
Speaker 1: for people to have the right to organize a union.
Speaker 1: He fought for more progress in US foreign policy for
Speaker 1: Latin America. He organized with n double A c P
Speaker 1: leaders against Jim Crow's aggregation. Dennis Chavez is one of
Speaker 1: those people. We can use Hispanic Heritage Month to talk
Speaker 1: about our connection to other people's democratic struggles. Today's Congress,
Speaker 1: the U sixt has forty seven members of Hispanic heritage.
Speaker 1: Hispanic Americans also helped turn the tide of the Civil War.
Speaker 1: Some twenty thousand were involved in the conflict. While some
Speaker 1: in the Southeast sided with the Confederacy, especially those who
Speaker 1: came from wealthy families with plantations or other businesses. In
Speaker 1: Louisiana and Alabama, more supported the Union, or it's said
Speaker 1: a lot of Mexican American soldiers fought on the side
Speaker 1: of the Union Army in the Southwest and actually helped
Speaker 1: defeat the Confederacy in the Southwest. Hispanic people in the
Speaker 1: West backed the Mexican government too, and celebrated the country's
Speaker 1: defeat of the French at the Battle of Puebla on
Speaker 1: May five of eighteen sixty two, single Demio in a
Speaker 1: victory that may have helped prevent the French from siding
Speaker 1: with the Confederacy and thus ultimately helping the Union win.
Speaker 1: A bit more modernly, about eight years before the U. S.
Speaker 1: Supreme Court ruled in Brown versus the Board of Education
Speaker 1: that segregation in public schools is unconstitutional, a Hispanic school
Speaker 1: girl showed the way. Sylvia Mendez, a Puerto Rican and
Speaker 1: Mexican heritage, was just eight years old when she and
Speaker 1: her brothers were denied enrollment into the white only Westminster
Speaker 1: School District in Orange County in ninety three. At the time,
Speaker 1: about eight of cow Alifornia school districts were segregated. Her parents,
Speaker 1: Gonzalo and Felicita Mendez, enlisted other parents to fight the decision,
Speaker 1: and they took the school board to court. After appeals
Speaker 1: that were abandoned short of the U. S. Supreme Court,
Speaker 1: Mendez versus Westminster became the first successful federal school desegregation
Speaker 1: case in the nation. That was in ninety seven. The
Speaker 1: case was important in arguing that segregation itself, even if
Speaker 1: schools were separate but equal, was harmful and unconstitutional under
Speaker 1: the Fourteenth Amendment, specifically the clause that calls for equal
Speaker 1: protection of the laws for all citizens in appeals. Sylvia's
Speaker 1: case was argued by third Good Marshall, who went on
Speaker 1: to argue for the plaintiff in the Brown versus Board
Speaker 1: of Education case too, and later would become a Supreme
Speaker 1: Court justice. Felicitas died in but Sylvia has continued to
Speaker 1: tell her family story. In two thousand seven, a U. S.
Speaker 1: Postage stamp marked the sixtieth anniversary of the case, and
Speaker 1: on February, then President Barack Obama presented Sylvia with the
Speaker 1: Presidential Medal of Freedom. Today's episode was written by John
Speaker 1: Donovan and produced by Tyler clang Or. More on this
Speaker 1: and lots of other historic topics, visit how Stuff works
Speaker 1: dot com. Brain Stuff is production of I Heart Radio
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Speaker 1: favorite shows.