Afro-Latinx Studies

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2023 Hispanic Heritage Month Theme - Todos Somos, Somos Uno: We Are All, We Are One 

A Proclamation on National Hispanic-Serving Institutions Week, 2023

     Education beyond high school should be a ticket to the middle class — and across our Nation, more than 500 Hispanic-Serving Institutions have helped to make that promise real, opening the doors of opportunity a bit wider for generations of Hispanic college students.  During National Hispanic-Serving Institutions Week, we celebrate their important work.

     Today’s students are part of the most talented, resilient, and diverse generation in our history.  But while creativity and work ethic are abundant, not everyone has an equal shot yet.  That is why Hispanic-Serving Institutions are so essential.  Two-thirds of all Hispanic college students in America attend one; they provide a quality education and empower underserved students — including Dreamers and first-generation college students — to earn degrees and build better lives for their families.  And with the Supreme Court’s recent decision to effectively end affirmative action, their work is as critical as ever.

     This week, I am thinking about Julieta García, the first Hispanic woman in history to serve as president of an American college.  Last year, I had the honor of giving her the Presidential Medal of Freedom for her work building a culture of excellence, affirmation, and curiosity for generations of students.  Reflecting on her career, she once said, “My job was always to thrust open the doors of opportunity.”  That is what Hispanic-Serving Institutions do — and that is what America is all about:  widening the aperture of opportunity for everyone.

  NOW, THEREFORE, I, JOSEPH R. BIDEN JR., President of the United States of America, by virtue of the authority vested in me by the Constitution and the laws of the United States, do hereby proclaim September 10 through September 16, 2023, as National Hispanic-Serving Institutions Week.  I call on public officials, educators, and all the people of the United States to observe this week with appropriate programs, ceremonies, and activities that acknowledge the many ways these institutions and their graduates contribute to our country.

                               JOSEPH R. BIDEN JR.

From: White House Briefing Room