September 15 – October 15 is National Hispanic & Latino Heritage Month, which celebrates the contributions and cultures of the many different Hispanic and Latino populations that have shaped the U.S.

Self-Help is honored to serve many Hispanic & Latino populations throughout our geographies — one prominent population being in Chicago's Little Village. Little Village is primarily made up of Hispanic and Latino communities, with vibrant murals throughout the area proudly representing Hispanic and Latino art, history, and culture. Self-Help is honored to have one of these beautiful murals showing prominent figures in Mexican history on the building of our branch.

In this blog post, we will share a video of Self-Help Federal Credit Union Co-President Rudy Medina showing off the mural and will explore the history of our Little Village branch.

A mural celebrating Mexican history

Little Village proudly displays the history and culture of its immigrant communities through murals on buildings across the neighborhood. Next to the Self-Help branch in Little Village is home to one of these colorful and beautifully painted murals, originally created by Vicente Mendoza in the '80s and reworked in 2017 by Robert Valadez to coincide with the branch's remodel.

The mural is a celebration of significant historic Mexican figures as well as more recent local activists and movements. Some of these figures include:

• Emiliano Zapata – leading figure in the Mexican revolution
• Frida Kahlo – Mexican artist and modern-day political icon
• Miguel Hidalgo – leader of the Mexican War of Independence
• César Chavez – American labor leader and civil rights activist
• Rudy Lozano – Little Village labor activist and community organizer
• Don Fidencio – beloved elderly Little Village paletero (popsicle vendor)

While the mural highlights Mexican history, it also depicts the current struggles that the community faces with immigration by showing protesters holding signs related to recent protests. At the center of all these depictions is a large, colorful Aztec calendar, and the original artist, Vicente Mendoza, has been added into the mural and is depicted painting the calendar.

Self-Help has continued to ensure that the mural stays maintained and updated as needed with the most recent updates occurring just this year. It has become a source of pride and reverence for staff and members at our Little Village branch, and we are grateful to support the Hispanic and Latino cultural integrity of Little Village through the maintenance of this mural.

The Legacy of Second Federal

The Little Village branch and mural that have become a beloved part of the Self-Help family have a long history. Before the branch was Self-Help, it was Second Federal, one of the oldest continuously operating financial institutions in America.

In 1882, a group of community-focused men established Columbia Savings & Loan, which eventually became Second Federal. When the bank was first created, Little Village was a primarily European community with German, Czech, and Polish immigrants. Over time, it gradually became almost entirely Hispanic/Latino.

During this transition, many banks disappeared, but Second Federal stayed and evolved with the community. Despite Second Federal's adaptation and belief in the community, the recession in the early 2000s hit them hard. The FDIC eventually tried to shut them down, but the customers kept coming anyway, demonstrating the trust that Second Federal had built.

The Resurrection Project stepped in to help – they are Chicago's largest Latino-run community development organization, which does immigration and financial empowerment work and advocacy. They decided to call Self-Help to discuss a merger in 2013, and we immediately went to work on stopping impending foreclosures. Nearly 400 families at risk of losing their homes were able to recover and stay in their houses.

Second Federal laid the groundwork and established an incredible community in Little Village. Self-Help is honored to have joined forces with this incredible financial institution to support ownership and economic opportunity for the people of Little Village.

Learn more about our legacy stories and the communities that we serve by checking out the Stories from Our Vault.

Happy Hispanic & Latino Heritage Month

At Self-Help, we believe that everyone should have access to ownership and economic opportunity. This month (and every month), we celebrate the Hispanic and Latino communities we serve who have worked hard to gain financial empowerment and build generational wealth for themselves and their families.

Thank you to our Little Village branch and to all of our Hispanic and Latino communities for being part of the Self-Help family — Happy Hispanic & Latino Heritage Month!