President Joe Biden will attend the main event celebrating Hispanic Heritage Month in Washington, DC. The event, organized by the Congressional Hispanic Caucus Institute (CHCI), is called the Annual Awards Gala, and includes prominent Latinos in politics, culture, and advocacy.
Biden’s attendance at the 45th annual gala is the first by a sitting president since former President Obama gave a speech at the gala’s 39th edition in 2016.
“It’s an example of the commitment of our nation’s highest-ranking leaders to our community and desire to engage with us directly – to speak to us, to hear from us, to learn about our needs and desires,” said Marco Davis, CEO of CHCI.
From 1979 to 2016, every sitting president had been invited to address the gala, and only former President George H.W. Bush could not attend. However, in 2017 CHCI declined to invite former President Trump after he pardoned Arizona Sheriff Joe Arpaio and announced a plan to dwindle the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program.
Trump also failed to attend or address the following galas, and the coronavirus pandemic forced CHCI to make the event online in the next years.
CHCI’s primary function is to train young Hispanics who want to work in government, and its intern classes usually include DACA beneficiaries.
The gala’s return is exciting for Latinos, who sometimes refer to the event as “Latino Prom” or “Brown Prom,” about the White House correspondents’ dinner nickname of “Nerd Prom.”
Hispanic Heritage Month starts on September 15th, on Mexican Independence Day, and ends on October 15th.
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