Freedom Dreaming Beyond Hispanic Heritage Month: NC Organizations Aim to Bridge Opportunity Gaps for Latine Students
The end of this year’s National Hispanic Heritage Month is approaching, but the fight for visibility and educational equity in Hispanic and Latine communities continues all year long.
National Hispanic Heritage Month is observed in the United States from September 15 and October 15 to celebrate the culture, history, and contributions of Hispanic and Latine communities.
The Latine community has been shaping the history of the United States since the American Revolution, and Hispanic Heritage Month is an important time of the year to give the community the recognition, representation, and visibility that is still so necessary.
Hispanic Heritage Month began in 1968 under President Johnson as a weeklong celebration, and was later expanded to a month by President Reagan in 1988. Rather than starting at the beginning of a calendar month, Hispanic Heritage Month begins September 15, to align with the independence days of many Central American countries which fall during that week.
Although Hispanic Heritage Month is a great starting point for celebrating the Latine community, one month in the year is far from enough. The Latine community is not a monolith, but incredibly diverse, and one month does not always provide ample opportunities for everyone’s voice to be heard.
Around 11% of the population of North Carolina identifies as Hispanic or Latine, and this is the fastest-growing population of any racial/ethnic group in the state, growing by over 40% between 2010 and 2020. As this population grows, so does the need to address the many systemic inequities and disparities still faced by the Latine community.
A major barrier faced by Latine students in public education is the educator diversity gap. Around 20% of students enrolled in North Carolina public schools identify as Hispanic, whereas only 4.2% of educators are Hispanic. Research shows that educator diversity often leads to better educational outcomes for students of color such as higher rates of attendance and improved test scores. Having more educators of color is important visibility and representation for students of color, and they can also help foster a sense of belonging with students of color through increased cultural awareness. Additionally, bilingual educators are also necessary, especially to address the language barriers faced by many Latine students.
In addition to a lack of educator diversity, Latine students often experience cultural and social isolation. Lack of cultural awareness within the public education system creates disparities for students who experience a gap between their lived experiences and educational experiences, and students often become ashamed of their cultural background because differences are not celebrated. Cultural and social isolation exacerbates mental health challenges that Latine students may face.
Furthermore, despite the necessity for more support for Latine students, there is a chronic disinvestment in education for Latine communities. Bilingual and bicultural education is not prioritized, leading to wider opportunity gaps. The ongoing Leandro v. the State of North Carolina case and funding for private school vouchers also exemplify the consistent undervaluing of public education and educational equity by North Carolina policymakers.
Additional challenges that Latine students may face include immigration status, which can create barriers to postsecondary educational opportunities, and disciplinary disparities.
After having identified these barriers and opportunity gaps, organizations across North Carolina, such as our partner organizations LatinxEd and ISLA NC, are working to address these inequities.
LatinxEd
LatinxEd’s mission is to invest in Latine education leaders to close opportunity gaps for higher education and advance educational equity within the education system. The organization was co-founded in 2018 by Elaine Utin and Ricky Hurtado, two Latine leaders who grew up in North Carolina.
Lucia Lozano Robledo, Curriculum & Program Specialist at LatinxEd, described the beginning of the organization as a “love letter to the community.”
The organization initially began as a direct service organization focusing on college access, addressing barriers to higher education that Utin and Hurtado had to navigate, and has evolved as the organization grew.
Currently, LatinxEd’s main initiatives include a Latinx fellowship focusing on leadership development and community building for Latine education leaders, college access work with more focus on technical assistance, and an annual Latine Education Summit. In addition to these initiatives, LatinxEd also works with partner organizations across the state, such as CREED, towards various goals including research and advocacy.
Because one of the most critical barriers for Latine students is the lack of educator diversity and a need for multilingual and multicultural staff, investing in Latine education leaders is crucial. LatinxEd takes a community-focused approach throughout their work and initiatives, using their research to inform the work that they do by focusing on community needs.
A key approach in LatinxEd’s work, according to Lozano Robledo, is “freedom-dreaming,” or exploring the possibilities for education outside of historical systems of oppression.
“We need to combat the current inequities, and we also need to make space to imagine something different,” Lozano Robledo said. “If we use all of our energy and our time in the barriers without the reimagination, we’re not going to be able to imagine something new.”
The ultimate goal of organizations like LatinxEd — and like CREED — is to see a world where the work of these organizations is not needed in the same way, because the inequities and barriers to education have been adequately addressed, Lozano Robledo said.
Photos courtesy of LatinxEd
ISLA NC
Another organization working to close opportunity gaps for Latine students is ISLA NC, a nonprofit based in Durham focusing on providing quality language and cultural immersion education.
ISLA started in 2012 as a heritage language program with a small community of twelve students and their families, but has since expanded to over 200 students and their families. As the organization has grown, they have also expanded to include new initiatives to include not only the ISLA Los Sábados weekly heritage language immersion, but also Spanish Online for schools, ISLA Padres for parents, and ISLA Verano summer camp.
ISLA’s programs are not just language classes. The classes do provide Spanish immersion, but ISLA also prioritizes cultural awareness and empowering Latine children to be proud of their identities and cultural heritage.
Susana Benites, co-Executive Director at ISLA NC, said that many Latine children are taught to be ashamed of their identities and to avoid speaking Spanish in an attempt to assimilate to life in the United States. These prejudices and barriers can cause Latine children to lose an important aspect of their identities. Additionally, young children who have not yet become proficient in their first language, Spanish, will experience further difficulties learning English when they have not yet developed enough foundational skills in Spanish. ISLA’s language immersion program addresses these key barriers and inequities, but also serves to empower the Latine community, from students to families to educators alike.
ISLA also engages with students who are not Latine through programs such as Spanish Online, aiming to bridge the cultural divide and to promote cultural understanding. Furthermore, ISLA also engages with parents and educators through workshops to inform them on how to better support Latine children in education.
Photos courtesy of ISLA NC
LatinxEd and ISLA’s work highlights the necessity of Latine representation and visibility in addressing major inequities and barriers faced by Latine students within the education system. Celebrating Hispanic Heritage Month can be one way to increase representation and visibility for the Latine community and to promote cultural awareness and inclusivity. However, it is also important to recognize and empower Latine students, families, and educators throughout the entire year.
Brooke Xu is a student at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, pursuing a degree in Public Policy and English & Comparative Literature with a minor in Social & Economic Justice. She is passionate about educational equity since volunteering as a peer tutor and writing instructor in high school. At UNC, she currently works with the Affirmative Action Coalition and Campus Y Student Organization, specializing in communications. Brooke joined CREED in 2024 as the Fall Marketing & Communications Intern.
