[1] #DignidadLiteraria was formed the last week of January 2020 by journalist Roberto Lovato, and the authors Myriam Gurba, and David Bowles, in response to the controversy surrounding the novel by Jeanine Cummins, American Dirt.

[8][9][10] On January 30 REFORMA, the national association to promote library and information services to Latinos and Spanish speaking, issued a "Statement in Solidarity with #DignidadLiteraria".

[11] In the statement REFORMA indicated they had started discussions to establish a dedicated reading list and annual Adult Fiction Award "highlighting the stories that are written by and resonate with Latinos."

[13] On February 3, representatives for #DignidadLiteraria met in New York City with officials from Macmillan, the parent company of Flatiron Books, which published American Dirt.

[9] The group was also instrumental in getting Barnes & Noble to cancel its "Diverse Editions" line of canonical classics written by and featuring white people, but with new variant covers that changed the race and/or ethnicity of the protagonists, a choice widely decried as brown- and black-face.

[25] Stephen King, The Washington Post critic Ron Charles, and other defenders of the book denounced the alleged threats while Gurba, Bowles, and others asked Miller and Flatiron to produce evidence of them.