Remarks by the First Lady at a Hispanic Heritage Month Reception

[As prepared for delivery.]

Welcome, everyone, to the White House! Thank you for joining us. Weren't the Mariachi Joyas amazing? They're students at Las Vegas High School.

The President wanted to be here with all of you today. But in this critical time, he knew he had to travel to Israel.

And, even as he is an ocean away, his heart is also here with all of you, because he will always stand with this community.

Kamala, you've been an incredible partner to Joe in supporting this community. He and I are grateful for your tireless work for the American people, and for your friendship. Thank you for joining us today. It's always an honor to share a stage with you.

In 1914, in the doorway of a Laredo newspaper called El Progreso, Jovita Idár stared down a group of Texas Rangers who had come to destroy the newspaper's building and everything in it.

Jovita was a Mexican-American journalist, suffragist, and outspoken champion for civil rights. Her writing boldly challenged injustice and had come to the attention of the governor, who sent the Rangers to silence her printing presses.

But Jovita stood in their way.

Earlier this year, she was honored with a new quarter celebrating her remarkable contributions to our history. But her whole story—the people she helped, the rights she fought to protect, the schools she opened, the legacy she left—cannot be told on a coin alone.

And the many stories of Latinos like her cannot either.

They are American stories—of courage and conviction. They showcase the strength, ingenuity, and optimism of our country and its people.

That's why we need the National Museum of the American Latino to be built on the National Mall.

And as we celebrate and lift up these stories of power, of perseverance, of pride, as we recognize the Latino voices that helped build our country, those who led movements for change, who wrote our laws and who penned our poetry, we also recognize that our American history is incomplete without the stories that will never make it into the history books.

The teachers who help educate our students, the doctors and nurses who help heal our families, the faith leaders who comfort us, the farm workers who put food on our tables, the mothers and fathers and grandparents, the mentors and friends, the communities who lift each other up—who help each other find their way.

So, thank you for joining us here tonight.

This is the People's House, and centuries of history run through its walls. But that history is a living, beating one, molded every four years by the people who walk through its halls.

Each of you—your backgrounds, your experiences, your perspectives—breathes life and color and texture into this House.

Thank you for elevating the stories of your community.

Thank you for shaping this House and our country in a significant and meaningful way. And thank you for weaving our American story together into a tapestry of exquisite beauty and richness.

And now, I'd like to introduce someone weaving joy into that tapestry, Leo Gonzalez.

***

Thank you, Gaby, for that wonderful performance.

And thank you all for joining us today to help celebrate Hispanic Heritage Month.

Please enjoy the reception.