As we write this editorial, Juan Felipe Herrera, the son of migrant farm workers who lived in tents and trailers as his parents moved along the California harvest circuit, has become not only the first Mexican-American Poet Laureate of the United States, but the only Latino to have received the Library of Congress honor.
“This is a mega-honor for me, for my family and my parents who came up north before and after the Mexican Revolution of 1910 — the honor is bigger than me,” Herrera said in a written statement. “I want to take everything I have in me, weave it, merge it with the beauty that is in the Library of Congress, all the resources, the guidance of the staff and departments, and launch it with the heart-shaped dreams of the people. It is a miracle of many of us coming together.”
Herrera — who has had 28 books of poetry published  — writes in both English and Spanish, and his work draws on a sense of place, history and identity  in the form of poetry that offers up “a life without boundaries.”
Identity, rootedness, home and stepping past boundaries were also part of the words of students from Esperanza Academy Charter High School recently on display at the National Museum of American Jewish History’s exhibit “My Home, My History.”
The students — most of them from communities of color in Philadelphia — searched their family histories and the histories of the home they live in, and put in words their neighborhood’s, their family’s and their own “heart-shaped dreams.” 
Here are some:
Yamaira Crissey
I am 15 years old and I live in Philadelphia.When I began this course I wasn’t much aware of my heritage or who I was beyond who I am right now.
I didn’t know where I came from or how history affects the present.
I feel like now I have been educated in my history as a Puerto Rican woman. I know about my tribe, the Tainos. I am more aware of how they were treated by Christopher Columbus. I also learned more about how we as Latinos were discriminated against and dehumanized in the past.
I feel as though learning this shows me  how history ties to me. I now understand where my family’s bias comes from. I discovered the history of my family and how it affects my everyday life through this project.
I also learned that my present can affect the future. What I mean by that is that the way I grow up can affect the way I raise my children. It can also affect how I view my life in general.

Reymon Rodriguez
I’m 15 years old and I live in Philadelphia. Back in September I hated this class because I never cared about history. Now in May I find this class interesting and worth passing.
The most memorable part about this class were the projects because it was interesting learning about the past and looking into my family history.
I learned a lot about my parents and my family. I learned that in the Dominican Republic my family were all poor and came from nothing. 

They had to work for minimum wage and had to take care of their kids and their families.
They came to America to have better jobs and a brighter future for their families.

Caleb Joshua Maldonado
I’m currently 14 years old. I was born in Orlando, Florida and I was raised in Philadelphia.
From September through May, I have changed by knowing who I am versus what I am. “Who I am” signifies my personality and what makes me happy. But “What I am” comes into play when I talk about my race and my traits.
One of the most memorable parts of this course is when I found a 1940 census of my house. What I learned was who lived here before I did and how the neighborhood has changed....

You can read more at the “My Home, My History” exhibit at NMAJH through June 16.
Juan Felipe Herrera will participate in the 15th Annual National Book Festival in Washington, D.C. Sept. 5, 2015.