Communications from UNC's Vice President of the Division of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion

Latinx Heritage Month will begin this September 15 and is celebrated through October 15. During this month-long celebration, we honor the history, culture, and contributions of Americans whose ancestors came from Spain, Mexico, the Caribbean and Central and South America. First observed as Hispanic Heritage Week in 1968 under President Lyndon Johnson, the celebration was extended to 30 days in 1988 under President Ronald Reagan.

September is National Suicide Prevention Awareness Month. We use this month to reach out to those affected by suicide, raise awareness and connect individuals with suicidal ideation to treatment services. It is also important to ensure that individuals, friends and families have access to the resources they need to discuss suicide prevention.

Today commemorates the passage of the 19th Amendment, which granted women the right to vote in a federal election. We celebrate the accomplishments and progress of how far women’s rights have come, but much more work is yet to be done.

Today commemorates Marcus Moziah Garvey, a Jamaican-born Black political activist, publisher, and journalist (to name a few). Garvey was probably the most charismatic Afro-American leader until Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. He established a chain of businesses including factories, hotels, restaurants, grocery stores, and laundries and was the founder of the Negro World newspaper, Black Star Line, and the Universal Negro Improvement Association (UNIA). Garvey popularized, and is credited for, the phrase “Black Is Beautiful”, giving his followers and supporters a sense of hope and power.