WACO, Texas — A Baylor professor is leading the charge in educating not just students, but all Central Texans this Hispanic Heritage month.
Dr. Felipe Hinojosa is a Professor of History at Baylor University and the Jackson Family Chair for Baylor in Latin America. This Hispanic Heritage Month he is presenting three different lectures.
"We're going to have three distinct lectures from scholars that are visiting us from institutions around the country," Hinojosa said.
The first lecture took place on Sep. 18 and featured Dr. Sergio Gonzalez of Marquette University. The lecture focused on Gonzalez's book "Strangers No Longer" which detailed the Latino experience in Wisconsin.
If you missed Gonzalez's lecture, there are still two more coming up in October before Hispanic Heritage Month ends.
On Oct. 3, Hinojosa is inviting a panel of three scholars to discuss democracy across the Americas. The last lecture on Oct. 10 features Dr. Johanna Fernandez who will talk about her upcoming project and her book on the Puerto Rican Civil Rights Movement.
All lectures are open to the public and free to attend.
"We're hoping that people of all backgrounds can come and benefit from learning about Latino history," Hinojosa added. "From the Civil Rights Movement to contemporary issues that affect the Latino community and the state of Texas in ways we as institutions, business leaders and healthcare leaders can better serve this growing population."
In addition to these lectures, Hinojosa is also working on a new book that focuses on the Latino Civil Rights Movement from the 1960s to the 1990s.
"My hope with this new book is to look at a national view of the Latino Civil Rights Movement," Hinojosa said. "To look at how Latinos fought for bilingual education, how Latinos fought for more teachers in public schools, how they fought for a change in the curriculum so that today I can teach Latino history at Baylor University."
Between the three lectures and his new book, Dr. Hinojosa is happy to share Hispanic Heritage Month with his students and the entire Central Texas community.
"It means everything for me to share the culture with my students," Hinojosa said. "I have students of all backgrounds in my classes, my job as a teacher is to make sure that they all come away with an understanding of U.S. politics, U.S. history, and that includes a U.S. history that extends beyond the borders of the United States."
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