With Hispanic Heritage Month coming to a close, U.S. Senator Bob Menéndez (D-NJ) published an op-ed on Tuesday, Oct. 11, to reflect on the presence and contributions of Latinos in the U.S., and left readers with a message of legacy and continuity.

Readers can access Menéndez’s op-ed in El Diario, a Spanish-language local outlet in New York. 

Menéndez begins with current facts about Latinidad, a community that spans 62 million citizens with a diverse array of backgrounds and experiences that enrich the land they seek to call home.

What is home for a Latino is an ever-transient answer, whether it be a place they left in search of a better life, a suburb in rural America, or the sprawls of a coastal city. Regardless of what a home entails, the Latino community is clear that it is always necessary to plant deep roots.

The Senator tells us that: “For many, to be Latino in the United States means growing roots in this new land, while maintaining ties to our home countries in our hearts,” a sentiment that speaks directly to the experiences of those whose concept of home is elusive. 

Abandoning a home, regardless of one’s motive, is driven by the desire to thrive and watch our roots turn into sturdy gardens. Many consider that a legacy. A figure whereupon Latinos can continue to inspire one another to follow in the footsteps toward self-determination.

For others, it can be as simple as continuity; the privilege, and responsibility, to carry on the work of establishing our presence among our communities, private enterprise, or government. 

We Latinos have gone to great lengths to prove we belong here, and deserve a seat at the table. We hold important appointments and even participate in critical policy-making that reverberates across different communities, beyond the ones we feel most likened to. 

And to be present is a monumental task because it implies asserting oneself as a constant in a country that grapples with identity, given the gamut of diversity in a nation that long centered one above all others. 

As such, it would behoove us to both reflect on our own contributions, as well as acknowledge who we share our roots with. The place we deeply wish to call home is also a haven for neighboring communities whose experiences are not far removed from the pain we experience, and we would do well to remember that. 

Just this week, incendiary commentary surfaced out of the Los Angeles City Council, where a Latina stood at its heart. Former Council President Nury Martínez made disturbing, disparaging remarks targeted at a Black child, likening him to a monkey, and desiring harm under the guise of disciplining him. 

The comments, troubling as they are, should serve as a reminder that we are fully capable of perpetuating the very systems that hurt us. More notably, we wield weapons that can harm progress, more specifically, the people at the forefront of equity, which also happens to be the community that built the soil we occupy. 

Our undertaking stems beyond safeguarding nuestra gente, as it becomes imperative to protect and uplift those who also desire a home. 

To that end, the New Jersey Senator says “I am immensely proud of these accomplishments, but I have always felt that being the first is not much of an achievement if there are not others who follow after you.”

Indeed, those who follow after you are very likely to also look up to you. Our resolve is moot if it's not profoundly inclusive, and does not include the experiences that account for the American experience. 

Our roots are only as tall as our ability to nourish our garden. And our garden, our community, nuestra gente, should, by all means, recognize the contributions of Black, Native American, and Asian counterparts. 

To “raise our voices,” as the Senator puts it, means to platform all of our voices. Otherwise — by virtue of the system that instills inequity — we are not promoting progress or determination, and is no different from getting ahead.