"Preservation of one's own culture," Cesar Chavez once said, "does not require contempt or disrespect for other cultures." For too long, we in America did not live by this golden rule. The official histories of our nation tended to exclude more people than they kept in. At the National Trust for Historic Preservation, we are working to remedy this deficit, and to engage with Americans from all backgrounds to help save and revitalize diverse places that matter.

Former Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar has talked about his confusion as a child when his teachers told him that American history "began" at Jamestown and Plymouth Rock. He knew very well his own ancestors had lived in New Mexico for centuries. Only in recent decades have we begun to see a much-needed correction to this Anglo-focused understanding of our past. In fact, National Hispanic Heritage Month, which begins this week and runs through October 15th, is less than 30 years old.

As a nation, we have also been lagging behind when it comes to saving historic places that tell diverse stories. Currently, Hispanic-Americans are 17 percent of the population. But a recent survey found that only 8 percent of the roughly 87,000 listings on the National Register of Historic Places and less than 3 percent of America's 2,500 National Historic Landmarks represent the stories of women and people of color.

The National Park Service has been working hard to remedy these figures, both by adding more diverse places and encouraging deeper investigation into the full history of those already listed. Under Secretary Salazar, for example, they recently embarked on an American Latino Heritage Initiative to more accurately reflect the diverse contours of our national story. But, especially given that we will be a majority non-white nation by 2043, we still have a lot of work to do.

This is particularly true when you consider the tragic consequences these disparities have on our current society and politics. A skewed and limited understanding of our past exacerbates lingering problems like racism, discrimination and xenophobia in our society. By contrast, celebrating our full and diverse heritage -- and working to protect the places that tell those stories -- helps us all to recognize that we are part of a greater whole: one American community.

That is why, at the National Trust we are working hard to encourage the preservation of more diverse stories. Nearly half of our National Treasures, our signature initiative, reflect chapters in our history that have too often been overlooked. Among them are the Palace of the Governors in Santa Fe, the seat of the Spanish government in the Southwest and the oldest continuously occupied public building in America; the Antiguo Acueducto del Rio Piedras in San Juan, one of the last Spanish-period aqueducts remaining on U.S. soil; and the historic Hispanic neighborhoods along the 710 freeway, including El Sereno, the oldest community in Los Angeles.

Similarly, our annual list of the "11 Most Endangered Historic Places" in the country recently included the El Camino Real de Tierra Adentro, the earliest Euro-American trade route in the United States; the Los Caminos del Rio Corridor of southern Texas; and, this year, Miami's Little Havana, the most well-known Cuban-American neighborhood in the country. All of these places are vitally important to our story, and losing them would diminish us and our understanding of ourselves.

Ultimately, preservation is about protecting places that matter to each of us. This month and every month, we hope you will let us know what places are being overlooked and what stories are not being fully represented, and help us to hold them up. As Cesar Chavez said, "We need to help students and parents cherish and preserve the ethnic and cultural diversity that nourishes and strengthens this community and this nation." All Americans should have the chance to see themselves, and the places they hold dear, included in our collective story.