Latino Americans: 500 Years of History
Programming for Latino Americans: 500 Years of History concluded on July 1, 2016. Thanks to all who participated!
For an overview of the project, including success stories from host sites, view the LA500 Final Report.
Latinos have a long and fascinating history in the United States dating back more than 500 years. Explore the rich stories, diverse cultures and painful clashes that have so powerfully shaped Latino lives and the nation.
Latino Americans: 500 Years of History, a public programming initiative produced by the National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH) and the American Library Association (ALA), was part of an NEH initiative, The Common Good: The Humanities in the Public Square.
The program was designed for libraries, museums, community arts and cultural organizations, historical societies, public television station affiliates, state humanities councils and others that sought to facilitate informed discussion in their communities about Latino history and culture. This project featured the PBS documentary series Latino Americans, a production of WETA Washington, DC; Bosch and Co., Inc.; and Latino Public Broadcasting (LPB), as a public programming cornerstone.
The goals of Latino Americans: 500 Years of History were:
- to bring scholarship on Latino American histories and cultures to new audiences;
- to engage people in examining and documenting the histories of Latino Americans in their communities; and
- to foster understanding of local histories in regional, national and international contexts.
More than 200 grantees received:
- Latino Americans, the award-winning, six-part documentary series, with public performance rights;
- Cash grants of $3,000 to $10,000 to support a Latino Americans: 500 Years of History program series;
- Promotional materials to support local outreach; and
- Access to additional programming and humanities resources developed by national project scholars, librarian advisors and outreach experts.
