Recognizing and Celebrating Diversity

•  National Hispanic Heritage Month is a national observance that takes place from September 15 to October 15 in the U.S.
• This day celebrates and recognizes the achievements, history, and culture of American citizens whose ancestors came from Spain, Mexico, the Caribbean and Central and South America.

 Read more here

• This day is a way of honoring those who have been a part of the American tradition even before the nation of the U.S.A. came into being.

Read more

• Founded in 1994 by Rodney Wilson, a Missouri high-school history teacher, this month is dedicated to the celebration and teaching of gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender history.

Read more here

• National Disability Employment Awareness Month (NDEAM) is a national observance with the purpose of raising awareness about disability employment issues.
• This day is also a celebration of the many and varied contributions of America's workers with disabilities. 

Read more here

• This day continues to raise awareness for individuals within the LGBTQ+ community, and champion the idea that homophobia thrives in silence.

Read more

Read more here

• This month celebrates the culture and heritage of Native Americans Americans who have made many significant contributions and deeply enriched the quality and character of the Nation.
• Dr. Arthur C. Parker, a Seneca Indian, was one of the first proponents of a day of recognition for Native Americans.

Read more here

• Veterans Day is a federal holiday in the U.S. for honoring military veterans, which are, persons who have served in the United States Armed Forces.
• This historical day also marked the end of WWI or "The Great War" and now celebrates and honors America's veterans for their patriotism, love of country, and willingness to serve and sacrifice for the common good.

Read more here

• This is a one-week celebration leading up to the Transgender Day of Remembrance (TDoR), which memorializes victims of transphobic violence.

Read more

• American Education Week presents everyone with an opportunity to celebrate public education and honor individuals who work in public schools and are making a difference in ensuring that every student receives a quality education.

Read more here

• The International Day for Tolerance is an annual observance day declared by UNESCO in 1995 to generate public awareness of the dangers of intolerance.
• The purpose of this day is to foster mutual understanding among cultures and to counter influences that lead to fear and exclusion of others

Read more here

• Transgender Day of Remembrance (TDOR) is an annual observance that honors the memory of the transgender people whose lives were lost in acts of anti-transgender violence
• This observance started in 1999 by transgender advocate Gwendolyn Ann Smith as a vigil to honor the memory of Rita Hester, a transgender woman who was killed in 1998.

Read more here

• This month is a reminder that the United Nations General Assembly codified the basic human rights of every person. It’s also a time to reflect on the way we treat others, and to do what we can in the fight for equality

Read more

• Since 1988, this international day of obsevance has been dedicated to raising awareness of the AIDS pandemic caused by the spread of HIV infection and mourning those who have died of the disease.
• World AIDS Day is the first ever global health day.

Read more here

• The International Day of Persons with Disabilities (IDPD) is an annual observance to promote the rights and well-being of persons with disabilities in all spheres of society and development, and to increase awareness of the situation of persons with disabilities in every aspect of political, social, economic and cultural life.

Read more here

• On this historical day in 1948, the United Nations General Assembly adopted the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR).
• The UDHR is a milestone document that proclaims the inalienable rights which everyone is entitled to as a human being - regardless of race, colour, religion, sex, language, political or other opinion, national or social origin, property, birth or other status.

Read more here

• Kwanzaa begins on December 26th and ends on January 1st.
• Dr. Maulana Karenga, chairman and professor of Black Studies at California State University, created Kwanzaa in 1966 with the purpose of bringing African-American communities together.
• The word Kwanzaa means "first fruits" in Swahili, a language used in Africa, and has to do with harvest.
• Kwanzaa takes place over 7 nights.

Read more here

• World Braille Day, celebrated since 2019, is observed to raise awareness of the importance of Braille as a means of communication in the full realization of the human rights for blind and partially sighted people.
• Braille is essential in the context of education, freedom of expression and opinion, as well as social inclusion.

Read more here

•  Martin Luther King, Jr. Day is a federal holiday that takes place annually on the third Monday in January.
• Martin Luther King, Jr. was an activist and minister whose accomplishments have continued to inspire generations of Americans.
• King was the first modern private citizen to be honored with a federal holiday, and many are very familiar with his non-violent leadership of the civil rights movement.

Read more here

• Launched in 2017, the National Day of Racial Healing is a call to action for racial healing for all people. It originated as part of the W.K. Kellogg Foundation’s national Truth, Racial Healing & Transformation efforts.

Read more here

• This month celebrates the achievements of African Americans and  recognizes the integral role that African Americans played in the history of the United States.
• Frustrated with being underrepresented in history, Carter G Woodson, noted historian, set the foundation for Black History Month by first creating "Negro History Week" in 1925.
• Black History Month was decreed a national observance in 1976, and every U.S. president has celebrated and observed it since.

Read more here

• This is a period to recognize the similarities all people have, yet acknowledge, appreciate and respect the differences in all of us. 

Read more

• This day commemorates the day that Abraham Lincoln, who was the nation's president at the time, signed a joint resolution that proposed the 13th amendment to the United States Constitution.  
• President Lincoln signed the Amendment outlawing slavery on February 1, 1865, although it was not ratified by the states until later.
• Major Richard Robert Wright Sr., a former slave, believed that there should be a day when freedom for all Americans is celebrated.
• Major Wright Sr. then founded the National Freedom Day Association, and played a crucial role in creating the observance.

Read more here

• The International Day of Women and Girls in Science is the 11th day of February, by resolution of the United Nations General Assembly on 22 December 2015. The day recognizes the critical role women and girls play in science and technology.

Read more here.

• This day celebrates the birth of Susan B. Anthony (1820–1906) and women's suffrage in the United States.
• Susan Brownell Anthony became one of the most visible leaders of the women’s suffrage movement. Along with Elizabeth Cady Stanton, she traveled around the country delivering speeches in favor of women's suffrage.
• When Congress passed the 14th and 15th amendments which gave voting rights to African American men, they formed the National Woman Suffrage Association, to push for a constitutional amendment giving women the right to vote as well.

Read more here

• An international day recognizing the need to promote social justice, and tackle issues such as poverty, exclusion, gender equality, unemployment, human rights, and social protections.
• The UN General Assembly declared this an annual celebration on November 26th, 2007.

Read more here