How Companies Are Falling Short When it Comes to Hispanic Diversity

Hispanic Heritage Month is a way to acknowledge the contribution of Hispanic ancestors to the culture and story of the United States. It’s a tribute to the generations of Hispanic Americans who have positively influenced and enriched US society. However, many Latinos tend to feel unheard at some companies’ attempts to honor this date. 

Many brands only appeal to Mexican food from September 15th to October 15th, as if the sole contribution to American culture were tacos, ignoring the fact that Latinos in the U.S. have ancestors from many different countries. That was the case with DC Comics. 

They decided to join the celebration in June, when they presented special covers featuring Green Lantern holding a flag with the inscription “Long live Mexico!!” and a bag of tamales, Hawkwoman with platanos fritos and Blue Beetle with tacos. The disgusted response from Latino readers on social media soon followed, but DC Comics chose not to engage in the controversy. 

Others try to honor the Spanish legacy in ways that are questionable at best. At the beginning of Hispanic Heritage Month, the NFL (National Football League) launched a campaign called “For Culture,” with the intent to pay homage to its Hispanic players throughout history. To do so, they added a tilde to the n on NFL, recreating the Spanish “ñ.”

Critics pointed out that the “ñ” is not used when you translate National Football League to “Liga Nacional de Fútbol Americano,” and many said they didn’t understand this alleged tribute. In Twitter, the NFL explained that “This shield integrates an unmistakable Latin flavor and is fundamental to our always-on, 365-day initiative. The electric brush stroke of the “eñe” is filled with an infectious personality that is carried out through the rest of the look & feel.” 

And these businesses’ shortcomings tend to be perceived more so by people who are Afro-Latinos or have both Asian and Latin ancestry, since the images chosen for Hispanic Heritage Month only show white Latinos, and those who are black, Asian, or indigenous (brown) don’t feel represented at all. 

The 2020 US Census reported that 18% of the total population in the US identified as Hispanic or Latino. The statistics showed that the number of Latinos who identified as white fell from 53% in 2010 to 20% in 2020. Those who identified as “other” rose from 37% to 42%, and the remaining who identified as two or more races climbed from 6% to 33%.

Some people have started to question whether it should keep on being called Hispanic Heritage Month, or should it be changed to Latin Heritage Month. Among other things, some point out that the term “Hispanic” is often associated with colonization. Others debate if the focal point should be the common Spanish language or race. 

Nonetheless, every year the commemoration offers the opportunity to reflect on the fact that people of Hispanic or Latino origin are the nation’s largest ethnic or racial minority, and calls for us to value the contribution of different languages, cultures, experiences and diversity of perspectives that enrich society. 

Why Hispanic Heritage Month takes up two months?

Each year, from September 15th to October 15th, the United States celebrates National Hispanic Heritage Month. But it began in 1968 as Hispanic Heritage Week under President Lyndon Johnson as a special tribute to the Hispanic tradition. The date was chosen because five Central American countries celebrate their Independence Day on September 15th (Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras and Nicaragua) and the Republic of Mexico on the 16th. 

It was then expanded by President Ronald Reagan in 1988 to cover a 30-day period, starting on September 15 and ending on October 15. It was celebrated as Hispanic Heritage Month for the first time in 1989. Each year there’s a theme, and for 2022 it is: “Unidos: Inclusivity for a Stronger Nation.”