Latinx Heritage Month: Why we should use Latinx over Hispanic
By: Michelle Seijas
Tags: Bay Area, Latinx, Éducation, Thought Leadership, Latinx Heritage Month

Latinx Heritage Month is a designated time to celebrate the contributions of the Latinx community to our country. It is a month filled with pride for many, a reflection on where we have been, and where we hope to go as a community.

It is also a complex existence that can’t be easily acknowledged in a month wrapped up easily on October 15th. The Latinx community is incredibly diverse. We do not all come from one experience.

To be Latinx is to identify with ancestors from Latin America. That may be Puerto Rico, Brazil, Cuba, Nicaragua, or Colombia. My own identity as a Latina is diverse. I am a Venezolana and Mexicana born in the United States of America. I definitely feel a connection to those from other Latin American countries, and I acknowledge that our experiences are not all the same.

The ancestors we come from did not all have the same journey that contributes to who we are today.

Many debates have existed for decades as to how people who are connected to Latin American countries should be titled and acknowledged formally by our government and in relationship with one another as people.

Unfortunately, the two do not often meet.

The term Hispanic became widely used in the 1980s as the government struggled to define who we were as a community. The term refers to Spanish speaking countries (not all Latin American countries speak Spanish) and is tied to Spain and their history of colonization.

Elevating our history with Spain over our indigenous history ignores the advanced communities that existed before any Spaniards set foot on Latin American lands.

Latinx is a term I prefer because it encompasses a diversity of people from throughout Latin America who are on a journey to shed mindsets and systems of colonization. Part of that journey includes finding words that can better define our complexity while also being as inclusive as possible

To root my identity in colonization highlights the pain of my ancestors and not their joy.

And I’m done with that.

My place in the journey of our lineage is to break from the narrative that something is wrong with us and we are not enough. To step into my authentic self and change the trajectory for generations to come, is to honor the beauty and joy of my ancestors and continue to remove the abuses embedded in our spirits.

My journey began generations before I was born. The spirits of generations past live through me today as I evolve as a living ancestor.

How I choose to continue the journey sets the stage for those who follow me.

It is a sign of respect to honor the spirit of my ancestors and I choose to do so on a daily basis. What that looks like has evolved over time as I learn more about who they were and how their spirit is alive within me today. As those connections become seen, heard, and felt, a new level of appreciation grows as I am enlightened of their struggle and their joys.

What often surfaces in their struggle is the lingering impact of oppressive systems rooted in colonization that taught them there was something wrong with who they were.

The generations of abuses physically, mentally, and emotionally embedded in their brains and hearts have remained in future generations hidden in corners of our subconscious.

These messages that something was/is wrong with how we look, speak, and move in the world.

The joy that I feel from my ancestors are the places where they were able to break free. Moments of connection to our past untouched by a colonizer’s gaze of judgment. Moving their bodies freely to the sounds that rang through rainforests in Venezuela before they were born. Filling their bellies with the food of Zacatecas that was made with love and deemed delicious because of the hands that made it.

In moments of joy, they were enough. In moments of joy, I am enough.

During Latinx Heritage Month, and all year round, we celebrate that we are beautifully made and more than enough. When you remove Hispanic and refer to my people as Latinx, you honor the complexity of history and future possibilities that live within our community. You join me on the journey to respect and honor my ancestors while breaking barriers to inclusivity which will pave the way for liberation in future generations.