LULAC Celebrates 80th Anniversary
MR. REID. Mr. President, I rise to call the attention of the Senate to the 80th anniversary of the League of United Latin American Citizens, LULAC. As a pioneer of the Latino civil rights movement, LULAC has long fought to better the economic condition, educational attainment, political influence, housing, health and civil rights of Americans of Latino descent.
Eighty years ago, three organizations in south Texas united to combat the rampant discrimination faced by Mexican Americans. After decades of disenfranchisement, the Latino community in south Texas created a movement for equality that has contributed greatly to enhancing the livelihood of Latinos throughout the United States.
LULAC’s successes and achievements are many—ranging from the desegregation of schools throughout the American Southwest to improving access to jobs and government programs.
Today, as America’s oldest national Latino organization, LULAC boasts continued service to America’s Latino population through more than 48 employment training centers, 16 regional centers, and employs its great knowledge of the needs of the Latino community by advising private, nonprofit, and public institutions. Moreover, its unique charter structure allows this organization to disseminate important information and provide worthwhile services via more than 600 councils throughout the United States and Puerto Rico. The need for LULAC’s services has not subsided through the years and a new generation of Latinos calls upon the institutional strength that this organization can provide. The challenges we face as a nation can only be resolved by the inclusion of all American communities and I value the sage voice of LULAC on the strategies to empower Latino communities.
The organization’s early efforts for political and social inclusion created a strong base which LULAC and other organizations now utilize to improve the quality of life for all American Latinos. I congratulate and commend the League of United Latin American Citizens for their long record of service to the Latino community and wish them continued success.
[Congressional Record: January 13, 2009 (Senate)] [Page S333]
From the Congressional Record Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]
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