National Latino Organizations Launch Unite Arizona Campaign
May 6, 2010
Contact: Contact: Lizette Jenness Olmos, (202) 833-6130 ext 16
Broad Coalition of National Latino Organizations Pledge to Fight SB 1070
Washington, DC – A broad coalition of the nation’s largest Latino organizations have united to fight Arizona’s anti-immigrant law SB 1070 in a new campaign called Unite Arizona (www.UniteArizona.org). The campaign will support efforts to block SB 1070 in court and coordinate a targeted boycott of Arizona until the state repeals the legislation.
The organizations who have joined together to launch the campaign include the Afro-Latino Development Alliance, ASPIRA, Defend the Honor, Hispanic Association of Colleges and Universities, Hispanic Federation, Inc., Labor Council for Latin American Advancement, League of United Latin American Citizens, MANA—A National Latina Organization, National Association of Hispanic Federal Executives, National Association of Hispanic Publications, National Conference for Puerto Rican Women, National Hispana Leadership Institute, National Hispanic Council on Aging, National Hispanic Media Coalition, Inc., National Institute for Latino Policy, National Puerto Rican Coalition, SER-Jobs for Progress National, Inc., U.S. Hispanic Leadership Institute, and the William C. Velasquez Institute. The coalition has formed a coordinating committee to discuss strategies and actions that the campaign will undertake.
“All options are on the table, from legal strategies to economic boycotts,” said LULAC National President Rosa Rosales. “Every state depends on tourism, on conventions, and we believe that if they’re being disrespectful to Latinos, then definitely they don’t need our business.”
Unite Arizona’s strategic boycott will focus on companies that contribute to the campaigns of the legislators who voted in support of SB 1070 with an emphasis on the corporate supporters of the legislation’s sponsors and the Governor. We are also supporting the call for national conventions, conferences and sporting events scheduled for Arizona to relocate to other states.
“SB 1070 is the most repugnant and racially offensive anti-immigrant bill to pass in decades,” stated LULAC Executive Director Brent Wilkes. “The bill has galvanized communities of color and our allies and will serve as a rallying point for us to come together to fight for justice, dignity and fairness like never before.”
The League of United Latin American Citizens, the oldest and largest Hispanic membership organization in the country, advances the economic conditions, educational attainment, political influence, health, housing and civil rights of Hispanic Americans through community-based programs operating at more than 700 LULAC councils nationwide.