A humanitarian leader of Hispanic heritage who spent 25 years in Europe before moving to the United States eight years ago is on a mission to help set the record straight about Americans of Latino background — and to showcase "their incredible contributions to this country."
Claudia Romo Edelman, born in Mexico City, Mexico, and today based in New York City, founded the We Are All Human (WAAH) foundation, which aims to "reveal, elevate and celebrate the best of humanity," according to the organization's website. "We Are All Human celebrates our differences. It is because of them, not despite them, that we are strong."
Under the banner of Hispanic Star, she is also launching a book series for young readers this month, in September 2022, to highlight the contributions and accomplishments of Hispanic Americans of distinction.
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"Hispanic heroes are American heroes," Claudia Romo Edelman told Fox News Digital in an interview this week. "Hispanic values are American values — and Hispanic progress is American progress."
Those profiled include Hall of Fame baseball player Roberto Clemente, as well as Celia Cruz, born in Cuba and one of the most popular Latin artists of the 20th century; she was known as the "queen of salsa." Roaring Brook Press of the Macmillan's Children Publishing Group is issuing the biography series.
Claudia Romo Edelman is the creative entrepreneur behind the new book series under the banner of Hispanic Star. It will begin publishing biographies of Latinos of distinction for young readers this month. (Claudia Romo Edelman)
She has over 25 years of experience in leading marketing and advocacy for such global organizations as the United Nations, UNICEF, the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria, and the World Economic Forum.
She's launched hundreds of successful campaigns and initiatives — but at the moment, she's focused close to home.
"I lived my life as a happy Mexican for the last 25 years in Europe," she said. "And when I moved here to the U.S. eight years ago, I began hearing terms like ‘Hispanic' in reference to me and many others. I thought, ‘What is this name? What is this group?’"
"We’re not takers. We are makers. And that’s my goal — to set the record straight and to showcase the incredible contributions of Latinos to the country."
"Once I started looking at the data, I realized I’d indeed come to the right place," she added — noting the many millions of Americans of Hispanic descent.
She also quickly came to understand, she told Fox News Digital, "that this was almost like a reverse marketing problem. People just don't realize how much we contribute to the country."
Biographies of Roberto Clemente and Celia Cruz are among the offerings coming from the Hispanic Star book series for young readers in the U.S. (Claudia Romo Edelman/Roaring Brook Press)
Said Edelman about those of Hispanic origin, "We’re not takers. We are makers. And that’s my goal — to set the record straight and to showcase the incredible contributions of Latinos to the country."
She said as well, "From the very beginning, I saw that, as a Latino mother of Latino children, I had to insert a sense of pride in my children — because I started looking around, and I saw that people of my age were hiding their Latino heritage. They were suppressing themselves because there was a feeling that it was a negative thing, not a positive, to be a Latino in this country — in order to make it in their work and to be successful."
Claudia Edelman during a speech on the numbers and the influence of Hispanics across the United States of America. (Claudia Romo Edelman)
And so, she said, she felt that education was necessary — as well as "pride, unity and understanding."
And not just for children, she said. "This is important for all people, adults as well, to have empathy toward others and toward all people, and to grow a sense of togetherness."
These "children's books have been in the making" for a very long time, she said.
This will be "a collection of books to give as gifts to children, to schools, to libraries, ideally allowing every Latino child to have access to their heroes."
"I would love to go through all of the Latino heroes that we have in every industry," she said, referencing her future hopes for Hispanic Star.
Claudia Romo Edelman on stage during a presentation. "What really unifies all of us," she told Fox News Digital, "is our desire to progress in America." (Claudia Romo Edelman)
"Right now, we're issuing six initial books, two each quarter, in two languages" — and then, ideally, she said, expanding the program from there.
"So by the end of next year, there will be a boxed set — a collection of books to give as gifts to children, to schools, to libraries — ideally allowing every Latino child to have access to their heroes."
Hispanic Heritage Month begins on Sept. 15 and runs through Oct. 15.
"What is really clear is that what unifies all of us, what unifies all of the 62 million Americans who are of Hispanic descent — all of us Latinos, Hispanics, Latinx, whatever you want to call us, we don't care about the labels," she said — "is not the language, not the country of origin, not what generation we are, none of that. No, what really unifies all of us is our desire to progress in America."
"It's our desire to fulfill the American dream," she said. "So it is utterly important to make sure we provide children with role models and heroes that show the arc of the American dream."
Hispanic Heritage Month begins on Sept. 15 and runs through Oct. 15 — and there will be a number of activities that she'll be involved in during this time, as well as leading the book series launch of Hispanic Star.
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Hispanics, noted Claudia Edelman, are "one of the fastest-growing demographics in the country."
Anyone can learn more about her organization and the new book series by going to hispanicstar.org.
