Read the article Hispanic Heritage Month: The Foundation of America's Civil Rights Movement, by Stephen Balkaran, Professor of Political Science.
An extract from the article:
«As anti-Hispanic rhetoric continues; it has taken away the best of who we are and what we can become as a nation and Americans. The immigration debate has now generated so many divisions in our society that it has become the "civil rights debate of 21st Century." Never in American history has an issue divided a nation of immigrants but more so left us scrambling for our true national identity. Civil Rights remain the pinnacle of debates, the protection of rights for all Americans, regardless of color, race, gender, age, sexual orientation and defending these rights against discrimination have long been important issue for all Americans. The Civil Rights Act of 1964, arguably one of the most important pieces of legislation in our country's history which ensured that legal barriers be torn down; which theoretically, should have eliminated barriers of discrimination against all Americans in our society. Despite this important legislation very few understand the historical foundations of the modern-day civil rights movement and the Hispanic influence. »
