The Hispanic Heritage Month of Action Campaign Seeks to Register Millions of Latino Voters

By Kenrya Rankin Sep 21, 2015

September 15 through October 15 traditionally marks National Hispanic Heritage Month, when the nation celebrates Latino culture and its contributions to the United States. This year, a collective has dubbed the period Hispanic Heritage Month of Action, with a focus on adding to those contributions.

Using the tagline “Build Our Legacy, Register to Vote,” the campaign aims to register every one of the 28 million Latinos it estimates will be eligible to vote in the 2016 elections. It includes both digital and in-person voter registration and citizenship application initiatives, lead by dozens of partners including Voto Latino, Mi Familia Vota, GreenLatinos and the National Hispanic Media Coalition.

As part of the campaign, the collective is releasing a series of videos aimed at getting out the vote and pushing back against the xenophobic rhetoric that many of the GOP presidential candidates have used on the campaign trail. The first video stars “Orange is the New Black” and “Jane the Virgin” actress Diane Guerrero, whose parents were undocumented immigrants

In it, Guerrero says, “Candidates say they need our votes to win the White House, and then we hear insults and threats, like a plan to deny citizenship to U.S.-born children if their parents are immigrants. They’re talking about people like me.”

Watch the full video below, and find out how to get involved with the campaign here

(H/t The Huffington Post)