Ward 4 Councilmember Helen Grant criticized the Norman City Council for failing to see a proclamation acknowledging National Hispanic Heritage Month at its Tuesday meeting.
National Hispanic Heritage Month is annually celebrated from Sept. 15 to Oct. 15 in the United States. It aims to recognize and honor the contributions, influence and cultures of both Hispanic and Latino Americans in the United States.
At the meeting, Grant said considering Norman’s diverse history and communities, it was the council’s duty to acknowledge National Hispanic Heritage Month. They said other Oklahoma cities have issued proclamations, such as Oklahoma City and Lawton.
“I would like to give the city some free advice as your only non-white passing, non-binary person of color to be elected in recent memory: get educated," Grant said. "And then strive to do better. Respect is a two-way street."
According to Tiffany Vrska, a spokesperson for the city, proclamations are issued at the mayor’s discretion. Requests for consideration can be sent to the office of the City Clerk.
“Mayor Larry Heikkila values all members of the Norman community and celebrates initiatives, organizations and events regularly with proclamations. Although a National Hispanic Month proclamation request has not been received, City Council meetings are public forums intended to conduct City business,” Vrska wrote in an email to OU Daily. “As such, proclamations per meeting may be limited to be respectful of the time of all attendees and focus on items that ensure proper function as a government agency.”
The last year Norman made an official proclamation recognizing National Hispanic Heritage Month was 2021 when Breea Clark was the city’s mayor. Accompanying this proclamation, the city released a video where Cinthya Allen, the city’s chief diversity and equity officer at the time, sat down with two city employees Sonia Gallegos and Esther Rojo to talk about their experiences being Hispanic and the importance of sharing their culture.
Angie Ulloa, OU Hispanic American Student Association's public relations chair, said National Hispanic Heritage Month is an important time to acknowledge the contributions of Hispanic people in America.
“The contributions made by Hispanic Americans to the city of Norman are incredible achievements and should be recognized by the city. It’s upsetting that this year there was no appreciation for Hispanic Heritage Month and their peoples,” Ulloa said.
Grant said in an interview with OU Daily that recognizing the various communities in Norman leads to building an inclusive community.
“(Proclamations are) not the silver bullet for racism,” Grant said, “But it does set a standard and brings an awareness to our institutions and our leaders that we are acknowledging folks … and striving to do better.”
This article was edited Alexia Aston, Taylor Jones and Peggy Dodd. Mary Ann Livingood and Avery Avery copy edited this story.
