2019 marks half a century since Congress authorized President Lyndon B. Johnson to proclaim National Hispanic Heritage Week.

(Source: Photo Illustration by Airman 1st Class Melissa Estevez)

In these 51 years, nuestra gente has achieved incredible successes!  

Here are five facts to celebrate Hispanic Heritage Month that will make you PROUD!

1) There are almost 60 million Latinxs in the U.S., making us the largest minority group in the country and 18% of the total U.S. population. (Source: Census Bureau)

2) Although our commitment to service to this country is often overlooked, there are more than one million Hispanic veterans of the U.S. armed forces. (Source: Minority Veterans Report)

(Source: https://www.englishtospanishraleigh.com/blog/hispanic-heritage-month-honoring-hispanics-in-the-military)

3) Hispanic-owned businesses are growing! There are currently 4.65 million Hispanic-owned businesses in the U.S. and more are popping up across the country, vastly outpacing those owned by other ethnic groups. (source: Hispanic Small Business Report)

(Soure: https://stories.wf.com/5m-counting-state-latino-owned-businesses-u-s/)

4) When it comes to education, we’re leading, too. The share of Hispanic high school graduates attending college has increased by around 13% in the last twenty years.  (Source: Association of American Colleges and Universities)

5) And although our numbers still fall short as compared to the U.S. Hispanic population, we elected a record number of Latinx members to the 116th Congress in the 2018 midterm elections!

(Source: giphy.com)

We now have 36 Latinxs in the House and four in the Senate (Source: NALEO)

So many triumphs to celebrate! Congratulations to US for displaying excellence in everything we set our mind to!

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