On July 22, Smithsonian museum director Anthea M. Hartig appeared before two separate House committees in what Congresswoman Jasmine Crockett called a “white pride rally disguised as a Congressional hearing.” 

During the two-hour proceedings, Hartig was questioned about the perceived racism, diminishing patriotism, and woke ideology “infecting” the museum, including this inquiry from Representative Brandon Gill: “What is Latina power?”

• Armed with purpose, pearls, and a power bob, Hartig hit him with a “be serious” glare before calmly answering: “Latina power would be the forces derived from being a Latina.”
• Gill responded by asking if it was appropriate for the National Museum of American History to sell “Latina Power paraphernalia,” holding up an image of zippered pouches, hats, tumblers, and other merch in delightful shades of pink—all of which have been sold at the museum for years.

This stunt is the latest example in our government’s long history of being weird about Latine cultural expression, and of our current administration’s continued targeting of the Latine community. Read more about the hearing and that history, then add these brilliant, award-winning authors and poets to your reading list. Latine Power is many things, Mr. Gill, and literary excellence is certainly one of them.

• Ada Limon – Our 24th United States Poet Laureate, winner of a MacArthur genius grant in 2023.
  • Start with: The Carrying, Bright Dead Things, and Against Breaking
• Vanessa Angélica Villareal – Poet and essayist. Winner of the 2019 Whiting Award, recipient of a 2021 National Endowment for the Arts Fellowship in Creative Writing.
  • Start with: Magical/Realism, which was longlisted for the National Book Award for Nonfiction in 2024.
• Elizabeth Acevedo – Poet, author of adult and YA lit. Winner of the 2018 National Book Award for Young People’s Literature, a Carnegie Medal in 2019, the 2019 Michael L. Printz Award, and the 2018 Pura Belpre Award
  • Start with: The Poet X, With the Fire on High, or Family Lore
• Kali Fajardo-Anstine – Novelist and short story writer. A finalist for the 2019 National Book Award for Fiction and a 2023 Guggenheim Fellow.
  • Start with: Sabrina & Corina or Woman of Light

On a petty note: JZD, the makers of the merch in question, have added an “I ♥️ Latina Power Paraphernalia” sticker to their Latina Power collection. I’ve got $5 on that for sure.