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Senate Resolution No. 2125
BY: Senator GRIFFO
MEMORIALIZING Governor Kathy Hochul to proclaim
September 15 - October 15, 2026, as Hispanic Latino
Heritage Month in the State of New York
WHEREAS, It is the sense of this Legislative Body to set aside
months which foster ethnic pride and enhance the profile of cultural
diversity which strengthens the fabric of the communities of the great
State of New York; and
WHEREAS, Attendant to such concern, and in full accord with its
long-standing traditions, this Legislative Body is justly proud to
memorialize Governor Kathy Hochul to proclaim September 15 - October 15,
2026, as Hispanic Latino Heritage Month in the State of New York, in
conjunction with the observance of National Hispanic Latino Heritage
Month; and
WHEREAS, National Hispanic Heritage Month began in 1968, when Public
Law 90-498 was approved by Congress, authorizing and requesting the
President to issue an annual proclamation designating the week beginning
September 15th as the National Hispanic Heritage Week; President Lyndon
Johnson issued the first one, Presidential Declaration 3869; and
WHEREAS, In 1988, Congress passed Law 100-402 which amended Law
90-498 and created the Month of National Hispanic Heritage; between 1990
and 2023, President George H.W. Bush, President William Clinton,
President George W. Bush, President Barack Obama and President Donald J.
Trump have issued annual proclamations for National Hispanic Heritage
Month; and
WHEREAS, Hispanic Latino Heritage Month celebrates the independence
days of several Latin American countries including: Costa Rica, El
Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, and Nicaragua on September 15th, Mexico
on September 16th, and Chile on September 18th; and
WHEREAS, In addition, Hispanic Latino Heritage Month highlights all
the Hispanic and Latino cultures found within the Americas, as well as
the diversity and the positive contributions of their Hispanic/Latino
brothers and sisters to their communities and congregations; and
WHEREAS, In 2019, the Library of Congress, National Archives and
Records Office, National Humanities Endowment, National Art Gallery,
National Park Service, Smithsonian Institution, and the United States
Holocaust Memorial Museum joined in paying tribute to the generations of
Hispanic Americans who have profoundly shaped and enriched our country
and our culture; and
WHEREAS, As of 2020, the Hispanic population in the United States
was 62.5 million, the largest minority group in the country, and is
projected to reach 111 million by 2060; and
WHEREAS, Mexicans, Salvadorans and Guatemalans are largely
concentrated in western states, while Cubans, Colombians, Hondurans and
Peruvians are largely concentrated in the South; the largest numbers of
Puerto Ricans, Dominicans and Ecuadorians are in the Northeast; and
WHEREAS, The top states of the largest number of Hispanic
populations are in California, Texas, Florida, New York, Illinois,
Pennsylvania, Ohio, Georgia and North Carolina; in 2022, New York's
Hispanic population reached 3,721,000 according to the United States
Census Bureau; and
WHEREAS, Today, Latinos continue to advance communities throughout
the country, including many other occupations as small business owners,
veterans, teachers and public servants; artists; lawmakers; in organized
labor, and in other capacities; and
WHEREAS, It is most fitting to set aside this month to highlight and
honor the history and heritage of the Hispanic Latino and to remember
and pay tribute to the contributions they have made to our State and our
Nation; now, therefore, be it
RESOLVED, That this Legislative Body pause in its deliberations to
memorialize Governor Kathy Hochul to proclaim September 15 - October 15
2026, as Hispanic Latino Heritage Month in the State of New York; and be
it further
RESOLVED, That a copy of this Resolution, suitably engrossed, be
transmitted to The Honorable Kathy Hochul, Governor of the State of New
York.