Celebrating National Hispanic Heritage Month

A group of library student employees teamed up to put together a book display in honor of National Hispanic Heritage Month. Read on to learn about the books they chose for the display, and visit the Oxford College Library this month to check one out!

By Makalee Cooper, Oxford Library Student Employee

Hispanic Heritage Month runs from September 15 to October 15. The Hispanic population in the United States has grown from 60.5 million in 2019, to 62.1 million in 2020, making up 18.7% of the total population. As the population has grown, so has a need to examine, interpret, and respect the many identities and people that make up the Hispanic population.

The NHHM book display in the reading nook.

Underneath the umbrella of “Hispanic” exists a wide range of people and identities, which the chosen books try to represent. The book Queer Latino Testimonio discusses the experience of being both queer and Latino in a time that was hard for both identities, while the book LatinX examines the meaning and changes of extremely gendered language in a more inclusive world. The books The Meanings of Macho and Beyond Machismo examine and dismantle the idea of Hispanic men in the strong, machismo stereotype. Music in the Hispanic Caribbean examines the impact that Afro-Latino people had on the music and culture of the region.

Overall, through this collection, we hoped to showcase how diverse and special the Hispanic population is, and introduce many people to the intersectionality that exists within the population.

Come visit the display!

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