It’s Hispanic Heritage Month at Milwaukie which means it’s time to come together and celebrate Hispanic Culture! Milwaukie High School isn’t explicitly doing anything to celebrate Hispanic culture, so it’s important to come together as a student body to celebrate such an important event. A great way to celebrate Hispanic heritage isn’t only to learn about the culture but to learn and listen to people’s personal experiences of what it’s like to be Hispanic. One of these experiences comes from a White and Puerto Rican woman, Kris Parker.
Kris, being a youth mentor in Portland, Oregon values the safety and well being of youth. Kris thinks that taking the time to celebrate Hispanic culture can help to increase the well being of youth, stating, “When we incorporate culture into society it gives individuals the sense of being included.”
When Kris’s mother was 14 years old she moved to the United States from Puerto Rico, where Kris would later be born. Kris shared her struggles growing up while being excluded from her culture. Growing up her culture was swept under the rug by family members, in an attempt to better fit in with the American society. When she would venture into learning about her culture, which she thought was exciting, it would almost immediately be shot down. Now being an adult and being free to learn about her culture she says she’s proud to be Puerto Rican. Kris thinks that Hispanic Heritage Month is a blessing for youth stating, “I’m happy there’s an outlet for those who are affected by Western society and struggling culturally.”
Growing up Kris would constantly be mistaken for white, which added to the barrier of not being able to participate in her culture. Kris would like to say to youth struggling with this same issue, that, “You don’t ever have to prove yourself, just continue to keep trying to embrace what’s in your heart and D.N.A.”
Kris wants people to know that it’s important to celebrate and embrace the culture and those who passed, stating that, “Celebrating your ancestors in Hispanic culture is especially important.” Growing up in a Western society has made her journey embracing her culture harder because of the lack of education about different cultures and then having to come together as a society with so many different cultures and having to live amongst each other. Kris would like to say, and for people to know, “This is who I am, I’m proud to be Hispanic, and had we not had this time to celebrate Hispanic culture people would’ve continued to feel excluded within their community.”