( CNN ) -- Every time Hispanic Heritage Month rolls around , I learn something new about the Latino footprint in the U.S . But until I spoke to Robert Lopez , I never knew how this celebration came to be . In May of 1988 , Lopez , former intern for the Congressional Hispanic Caucus , was asked to work on a bill that would amend the 1968 federal law , authorized by President Lyndon B. Johnson , to change it from a week to a month-long celebration . Today , Lopez is a veteran journalist who has helped produce award-winning investigative and multimedia projects for the Los Angeles Times , and a social-media expert who has taught reporters , students and academics in the United States , South America , the Caribbean and the Middle East . Lopez said Bettie Baca , executive director of the caucus at the time , said a House version had already been introduced in 1987 by Rep. Esteban Torres but was stalled by two subcommittees . A similar bill passed the Senate and there was support from all 13 Latino members of Congress in the House . Hearing this , Lopez thought getting enough supporters `` would be a slam dunk '' -- until he received pushback from some quarters . `` I got resistance at first . People did n't just did n't want to support commemorative legislation . People said things like , 'Well , why would we do that ? Are n't we all American ? That 's not a thing we want to support , ' '' Lopez said . `` I was a bit naive at the time and did n't know what to do , so I asked the Black Caucus to help me out , and we focused on writing 'Dear Colleague ' letters to New York , Texas and California . '' What we now know as Black History Month originated in 1926 , founded by Carter G. Woodson as Negro History Week , but then the celebration was expanded to a month in 1976 . President Gerald R. Ford urged Americans to `` seize the opportunity to honor the too-often neglected accomplishments of black Americans in every area of endeavor throughout our history . '' Lopez asked the Library of Congress to put together a list of notable Latino achievements in order to better sell the bill to other members . `` To me it was a fascinating learning experience . When I went to high school there was n't Latino studies or Chicano studies , '' Lopez said . `` I knew of some history here and there , but was shocked to learn of all the Latino history in this country from the Congressional Research Service , part of the Library of Congress . `` This bill became a lot about self-discovery , '' Lopez said . He wrote in a piece for the L.A. Times that he learned about such `` notable figures as Bernardo de Galvez , a military officer who aided American colonists in their fight against the British during the Revolutionary War . Then there was Luis Alvarez , who was born in San Francisco and won the Nobel Prize in Physics in 1968 . '' There was a ticking clock element to Lopez 's task . Since this was the second session of the 100th Congress , if the bill did n't pass this time around it would have to be introduced all over again . On an August morning in 1988 , Lopez walked into the House gallery in a blazer and tie , watched the bill pass , and the battle was over without any big fuss . `` I had no idea it would be as big as it is today , '' said Lopez . The third-generation Mexican-American grew up in an English-dominant household . His parents were raised in an area of California where you were punished for speaking Spanish , where Mexican immigrants were forced to be `` American '' and assimilate . So Lopez did n't grow up speaking Spanish at home . But that was n't the case for his two children , who attended Spanish-language immersion schools . Now , America dedicates a month , from September 15 to October 15 , to celebrating the culture and traditions of those who trace their roots to Spain , Mexico and the Spanish-speaking nations of Central America , South America and the Caribbean . After speaking to Lopez , I felt a surge of urgency to keep sharing his story . I wonder what would have happened if he had n't been assigned this project during his internship . What if he had n't pushed for the bill with his `` Dear Colleague '' letter and phone calls , or even worse , what if the bill had been put on the back burner until the following year ? Would we be celebrating Hispanic Heritage Month today ? `` I hope Hispanic Heritage Month helps people learn the things I did n't know growing up , the importance of Latinos in our history , and the contributions they 've have made , '' Lopez said . `` It 's a good way to celebrate our own culture , but also for non-Latinos to be exposed . You ca n't really understand American history without understanding Latino history . ''
Former Washington intern shares story of how Congressional Hispanic Caucus came to be . Latino pushed the idea in 1988 while working for Congressional Hispanic Caucus . Robert Lopez faced resistance from members but kept working for passage of the bill . `` You ca n't really understand Mexican-American history without understanding Lopez history ''