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Oakland Unified School District

OUSD is Celebrating Latino Heritage Month: Honoring Culture, History, and Contributions

Latino Heritage Month on dark blue background with colorful triangular borders and mosaic corner patterns.
OUSD is Celebrating Latino Heritage Month: Honoring Culture, History, and Contributions
OUSD is Celebrating Latino Heritage Month: Honoring Culture, History, and Contributions
OUSD is Celebrating Latino Heritage Month: Honoring Culture, History, and Contributions

Latino Heritage Month, observed every year in OUSD from September 15 to October 15, is a time for our community to celebrate the rich contributions, resilience, and vibrant cultures of Latino people with roots in Mexico, the Caribbean, and Central and South America. Almost 48% of OUSD's student population identifies as Latino, representing a racially and ethnically diverse community that comes from 15 different countries. While 80% of our Latino students are of Mexican descent, we also have a growing population of newcomers, including Guatemalan Mam-speaking families, the second-largest home language (5%) in OUSD after Spanish (33%).

This month coincides with the Independence Day anniversaries of several Latin American nations, including Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, and Nicaragua on September 15, Mexico on September 16, and Chile on September 18. In OUSD, Latino Heritage Month honors these significant milestones and reflects the core district value of cultural responsiveness and our commitment to building cultures of belonging on all campuses. This commitment is further reinforced by our School Board's values, as demonstrated by the Latino Heritage Resolution [here in Spanish] passed in 2019.

This month and next, schools will host various heritage events such as Latino Heritage celebration assemblies, student art projects, and the Annual Latinx Read-In in partnership with the Oakland Public Education Fund. We encourage everyone to take part in activities that amplify the voices and stories of our Latino students and staff and strengthen the bonds within our community through stories of migration, cultural pride, and self-identity.

Our Latino Student Achievement (LSA) specialists have curated Latino Heritage Month Resource Guides containing activities, lesson plans, and event ideas. These resources are designed to help students, staff, and families engage with Latino history and culture throughout the month.

OUSD Leaders (L-R)

Collage of three people: a woman with long dark hair, a man holding an Aztec calendar stone, and a woman with long brown hair.

I am a proud Latina, and Latino Heritage Month means a lot to me. Throughout history we have fought to be fairly represented and our hard work has paid off. Being a Latina and the first in my family to go to college (next year!), I feel proud to represent my community and seeing others do the same. I hope future generations will carry on the legacy we have going and push it even further, continuing to break down barriers.

Michele Vasquez
MetWest Senior & Student Director on the Board of Education

I was born and raised in Oakland with my parents being of Salvadoran, Mexican, and Armenian descent. I traveled throughout Latin America experiencing rich cultural and political landscapes of both beauty and struggle, wrapped with a deep complex indigenous history. Latino Heritage Month begins September 15 with the independence of Central America which broke from Spain as one country. Simultaneously, Mexico attained its independence from Spain on September 16. As Oakland has been the emerging home for thousands of Mayan-Mam Guatemalans, I could not but help to investigate its history with my students. Our common research gave us the vision to write a book, Mam History: Oakland Notes on the History of the Mayan-Mam Language, the first book on the history of the Mayan-Mam language in English, written with and for Oakland youth. The book is now found in libraries across Oakland and Latin America, as well as classrooms across the District. It also won the Oakland Heritage Alliance Award and we are proud to preserve and produce an Oakland-centered Indigenous history that lies in the heart of Oakland’s Latino community.

Javier Armas
Chicano Studies Teacher at Fremont High School

Latino Heritage Month is an entry point for Latino students to their own personal journeys of cultural empowerment, grounding, healing, and understanding or reconnecting to their own roots and purpose. I have a deep connection to the expression of Latino Indigenous heritage in OUSD. In the early 80s, my grandparents and my mother were engaged with school celebrations at my elementary school (Melrose Elementary), from starting a choir and teaching UFW songs to my classmates, to sewing traditional clothing for our Ballet Folklorico performances. OUSD and my family nurtured in me a love for my culture, and inspired me to maintain a spiritual connection to my heritage and traditions, now as an Aztec spirit dancer.

Raquel Jimenez
Executive Director of the Department of Equity

Books and Recommended Resources

As part of our celebration of Latino Heritage Month, OUSD encourages students, families, and staff to explore literature that reflects the rich history and vibrant cultures of the Latino community, such as:

A collage of five book covers: "Dreamers," "Last Stop on Market Street," "Miss Quinces," "I Am Not Your Perfect Mexican Daughter," and "Mam History: Oakland Notes on the History of MaYaMa Language."
  • Dreamers by Yuyi Morales (Kinder - 2nd grade)
  • Last Stop on Market Street by Matt de la Peña (Kinder - 3rd grade)
  • Miss Quinces by Kat Fajardo (4th - 6th grade)
  • I Am Not Your Perfect Mexican Daughter by Erika L. Sanchez (6th  - 8th grade)
  • Mam History: Oakland Notes on the History of Mayan-Mam Language by Fremont High's Javier Armas (High school)

These books are available for free in our digital District Library collection on Sora.

Community Events

Join us for these exciting events happening in the community during Latino Heritage Month:

We are excited to celebrate and lift up the voices of our Latino students, families, and staff this month and every day throughout the school year. OUSD wishes everyone a happy Latino Heritage Month!