Chapel Hill celebrates Hispanic Heritage Month, plans community outreach initiatives

Hispanic Heritage Month started Sept. 15 and celebrations are in full swing across Chapel Hill and the University. Although they are virtual, there are many events for residents to attend.

Cristina Carrasco, a UNC associate professor of Spanish and Carrboro resident, said this year, she plans on celebrating virtually and is encouraging her students to do the same. 

“It is a very important moment to be proud of the wide variety of different identities that form our country,” she said. 

Hispanic Heritage Month lasts one month and will be recognized in the Town of Chapel Hill by highlighting local Hispanic and Latinx groups, artists and past programs through social media. 

In addition to these month-long celebrations, the Town has several ongoing initiatives tailored to the Latinx community in Chapel Hill. These initiatives include the following:

• A partnership with UNC called Building Integrated Communities aimed toward improving the Town's inclusivity of immigrant and refugee residents 
• Expanding language access services for Spanish-speaking community members 
• Financial support for community members who have received deferred action under the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program
• Police outreach to Hispanic/Latinx communities

Chapel Hill will also introduce a proclamation at the Wednesday Town Council meeting to acknowledge the contributions that the Latinx community has made to the foundation of the Town, state and country, Town Council member Allen Buansi said in an email. 

“The proclamation urges everyone to actively learn more about the history of the Latinx community and its culture by attending virtual events being offered in the Triangle through the Hispanic League and El Pueblo,” Buansi said. 

Along with these Town-sponsored events, the University is holding celebrations of its own. The Carolina Latinx Center, located in Abernethy Hall, will be sponsoring a number of events across campus. 

These events include streaming Latin American films, career-building workshops with guest speakers and a Latinx Zumba class put on by Campus Recreation. The times for these events and more can be found on the Carolina Latinx Center website.

Gabriela Silva, a sophomore Carolina Latinx ambassador, said she encourages residents of Chapel Hill to celebrate virtually this year. 

“It is important to have people of all ages and demographics celebrating and being aware of Latinx events and heritage,” she said. 

Silva sees these events as an opportunity for the town of Chapel Hill and the University to become more aware of Latinx heritage and have meaningful conversations about problems present in the Latinx community. 

Carrasco tries to attend events for this month each year and appreciates the Town's efforts, but she said she feels there is more that can be done. 

“I celebrate being a part of the Latinx community every single day of my life,” she said.

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