You know, when I was growing up in Jackson Heights, Queens, I learned the same history that they taught kids all over America: that George Washington cut down his cherry tree, that Ben Franklin flew his kite, and Abe was honest.
Guess what was missing?
Us -- the Latino contributions to this country.
- People tend to forget that Latinos were here long before the United States existed.
- Most of the history we're still taught is from the point of view of the conquistadors who tried to wipe out any trace of advanced indigenous cultures to justify their massive theft of our new world wealth.
- The sophistication in the arts, in architecture, of these massive cities that were bigger than European cities.
- They invented life-saving medical practices.
They also calculated the movements of the planets, and they wrote it all down in their sacred books.
It's as epic as any of the great wonders you've learned about in history class.
- This is really important for Latinos to know and for other people to know about Latino roots.
- Mexican and Mexican-American people were lynched at rates similar to the rates that Black people were lynched.
- When we talk about executions, it's not like we have to document them, because the Rangers would take pictures.
- We were forbidden to speak Spanish.
And for every word of Spanish that you spoke, we were hit with a bat.
- We were not supposed to have any political rights.
The idea of being a peon was, you take it -- and we didn't take it.
We didn't accept it.
- You can't have a history book about the United States without considering the histories of all of the Latino communities.
- Guy Gabaldon, when he served on Saipan, captured by himself between 1300 and 1500 enemy soldiers.
- We don't just make contributions to U.S. history -- we have changed U.S. history.
- The Young Lords, they drafted the first known Patient Bill of Rights.
And these were kids, by the way!
I would've never thought of the Young Lords - would've created this, yeah.
- I know!
- We come from women who have done this before us, and we stand and we draw our strength from them.
¡Sí, se puede!
The most important thing I think that we have to do is make people understand that we are one human race.
And that way we can stop discrimination, and stop domination.
Sí, se puede.
- [laughing] Awesome, awesome.
- Oh,thank you.
