Sep.15 marked the beginning of Hispanic Heritage Month, honoring the Hispanic community’s culture, contributions, and achievements.

My own research demonstrates that, rather than embraced, Latino Americans are often "impostorized" in the workplace, a term I developed myself.

A lot of the strength and growth of the Latino community in the Quad Cities can be attributed to the Ontiveros family. The family launched the company Group O as well as Mercado on Fifth. Those businesses put people to work and helped get dozens of small businesses started.