FREE, VERY LOCALIZED. THIS IS A WIS 21 12 EDITORIAL WITH PRESIDENT. AND GENERAL MANAGER JAN WADE SELIG STATING HISPANIC HERITAGE BEGAN AS A WEEK LONG EVENT IN 1968 TO HONOR THE HISTORY AND CULTURE OF OUR COUNTRY’S HISPANIC AND LATINO COMMUNITIES. 20 YEARS LATER, RONALD REAGAN EXPANDED IT TO THE MONTH LONG EVENT WE OBSERVED TODAY. THE CELEBRATION STRADDLES TWO MONTHS FROM MID SEPTEMBER TO MID OCTOBER AND SALUTES A VAST GROUP OF AMERICAN CITIZENS WHO’VE MADE INVALUABLE CONTRIBUTIONS TO OUR COUNTRY FOR MORE THAN 300 YEARS. FROM ARTS AND CULTURE TO THE HUMANITIES AND ALL ASPECTS OF AMERICAN SOCIETY AT LARGE. TODAY, MAY THE UNITED STATES IS HOME TO MORE THAN 63 MILLION HISPANIC PEOPLE. THAT’S ROUGHLY 19% OF THE TOTAL POPULATION, MAKING IT OUR NATION’S LARGEST RACIAL OR ETHNIC MINORITY. IT’S A GROUP WITH DEEP ROOTS IN OUR COUNTRY AND A WIDE RANGE OF ANCESTRAL ORIGINS MEXICO, SPAIN, IN THE CARIBBEAN AND CENTRAL AND SOUTH AMERICA. NEARLY 20% OF MILWAUKEE’S RESIDENTS IDENTIFY AS HISPANIC AS WELL, MAKING IT THE FASTEST GROWING MINORITY GROUP IN OUR CITY, AS WELL AS OUR STATE. CELEBRATING HISPANIC HERITAGE IS AN IMPORTANT REMINDER OF HOW MUCH STRENGTH WE DRAW AS A NATION FROM OUR IMMIGRANT ROOTS AND OUR VALUES AS A NATION OF IMMIGRANTS. THE FIRST PRESIDENT BUSH ONCE SAID HISPANIC AMERICANS HAVE ENRICHED OUR NATION BEYOND MEASURE WITH THE QUIET STRENGTH OF CLOSELY KNIT FAMILIES AND PROUD COMMUNITIES. AND HE WAS RIGHT. SO AS WE WRAP UP HISPANIC HERITAGE MONTH WITH GOOD FOOD, FAMILY AND CELEBRATION, LET’S ALSO REMEMBER THE POINT HOW MUCH RICHER OUR COMMUNITIES AND ALL OF US ARE. THANKS TO THE INFUSION, IRON AND CULTURE OF THIS GREAT GROUP. I’M JA