Thank you to everyone who supported our 81st Annual LULAC National Convention & Exposition in Albuquerque, NM! Throughout the week, LULAC hosted 20,000 people of all ages and backgrounds.

LULAC welcomed elected officials to address the membership, such as Richard J. Berry, Mayor of Albuquerque; Bill Richardson, Governor of New Mexico; Diane Denish, Lieutenant Governor of New Mexico; Senator Jeff Bingaman of New Mexico; Congressman Martin Heinrich NM-1; Congressman Joe Baca CA-43; and Congressman Ben Ray Lujan NM-3.

Additionally, the LULAC membership welcomed several appointed officials at various events, such as Secretary of Labor, Hilda Solis; Secretary of Interior, Ken Salazar; The Honorable Rosie Rios, U.S. Treasurer; John Berry, Director of the U.S. Office of Personnel Management; Tom Perez, Assistant Attorney General of the U.S. Department of Justice, among many others.

Also in attendance as speakers were General Ricardo Sanchez, Retired, U.S. Army; Cris Abrego, TV Producer and Writer; Paul Rodriguez, Latin King of Comedy; Barbara D. Gervin-Hawkins, Executive Director, George Gervin Youth Center, Inc; and Laffit Alejandro Pincay, Jr., Retired Jockey.

Expert panelists included Lisa Pino, Deputy Administrator, SNAP, FNS, USDA; Dr. Alfred Vigil, New Mexico Secretary of Health; Frances Ashe-Goins, Office on Women's Health; Dr. Garth Graham, US Department of Health and Human Services; Dolores Huerta, Civil Rights Leader, among many others.

Exciting performers entertained the LULAC Convention attendees, such as Native American dancers, Ballet Folklorico, Mariachi Nuevo Mexico, and Al Hurricane at the New Mexico Celebration, as well as Latin Breed and Paul Rodriguez at the Comedy Show to Benefit the LULAC Lawsuit Against Arizona SB 1070. Ending the week with the annual Concierto de la Gente, LULAC and the Albuquerque community danced to the music of Ozomatli, Cristian Castro, Pee Wee and others.

Capping off an outstanding week of events, policy workshops, and performances, the LULAC membership voted for their new 2010-2011 LULAC National Board. Congratulations and best wishes for a successful and productive term!

Margaret Moran, LULAC National President

Aaron Mann, LULAC National Youth President

Berta Urteaga, LULAC National Vice President for Youth

Roger Rocha, LULAC National Treasurer

Regla Gonzalez, LULAC National Vice President for Women

Manuel Rendon, LULAC National Vice President for Young Adults

Rolando Gonzalez, LULAC National for the Elderly

Esther Degraves Aguinaga, LULAC National Vice President for the Northeast

Juan Carlos Lizardi, LULAC National Vice President for the Southeast

Sylvia Gonzalez, LULAC National Vice President for the Southwest

Maggie Rivera, LULAC National Vice President for the Midwest

Micke S. Luna, LULAC National Vice President for the Farwest

For more information about the 2010 LULAC National Convention, please visit us online

LULAC Members Jason Riveiro, Jorge Martinez, Leo Pierson, and Karen Dabdoub from CAIR, organized on July 29th a Press Conference to address rising crimes against Hispanics.

Read the press coverage:

http://news.cincinnati.com/article/20 ... gration-stance-fuels-hate

http://news.cincinnati.com/article/20 ... imes-up-against-Hispanics

http://www.wlwt.com/news/24436408/detail.html

Nominee has demonstrated a commitment to civil rights & equal justice throughout her career

Washington, DC – The National Board of Directors of the League of United Latin American Citizens today unanimously endorsed the nomination of Elena Kagan as Associate Justice of the U.S. Supreme Court and urged the Senate to confirm her before recessing at the end of this week.

“After a careful and thorough review of Elena Kagan's record, we have unanimously voted to endorse her nomination,” said LULAC National President Margaret Moran. “Elena Kagan has demonstrated a commitment to civil rights and protecting the rights of minorities and women throughout her career.”

As an example of Kagan’s likely judicial philosophy, board members pointed to Solicitor General Kagan’s recent filing of an amicus brief in a Fifth Circuit case, Fisher v. University of Texas which defended the constitutionality of the University of Texas’ affirmative action program.

Moran noted the historic opportunity that Kagan’s nomination presents. “Last summer we had the confirmation of the first Latina Supreme Court Justice, Sonia Sotomayor, and with the confirmation of Elena Kagan we will have three women justices on the Supreme Court for the first time.”

The LULAC Board noted that during Kagan’s tenure as Dean of the Harvard Law School she created several diversity programs that increased the number of Hispanic students from 4.6% of the entering class in the year she accepted the position to 6.4% in her final year. The number of Hispanic men in the entering class during her final year was 20, compared to an average of 14 in the previous six years; for Hispanic women, the number of entering law students increased from 12 to 19.

While at the Clinton White House, Kagan worked on strengthening hate crimes legislation and civil rights enforcement. Her admiration of Justice Marshall, for whom she clerked, indicates that as a Supreme Court Justice, Kagan is likely to follow his record of upholding the rights of women and ensuring equal treatment under the law.

“We look forward to actively supporting her nomination,” said Moran. “With an unparalleled ability to bring together people of different backgrounds and beliefs, she has earned praise across the political spectrum for her fair-mindedness, her insistence that all views deserve a respectful hearing, and her lifelong commitment to public service.”

Washington, DC – Fernando Laguarda, Vice President, External Affairs and Policy Counselor for Time Warner Cable has joined the LULAC Corporate Advisory Board and will serve as Vice President for Policy.

“It is an honor to serve on the LULAC Corporate Advisory Board and work to further our educational and career development mission,” stated Fernando Laguarda. “Time Warner Cable has long shared in this mission through its STEM initiative known as Connect A Million Minds as www.Connectamillionminds.com. I am confident that together we will be able to maximize the number of Latino youth to fill the gap of professionals in the fields of science, technology, engineering and math.”

Washington, DC – The League of United Latin American Citizens, the oldest and largest Hispanic civil rights organization in the country announces the win of Margaret Moran at the LULAC general assembly and election of officers on Saturday, July 17th in Albuquerque, New Mexico at the conclusion of the convention with a landslide victory. Margaret campaigned and carried every state and Puerto Rico.

“We made history on Saturday,” said LULAC National President Margaret Moran. “I am honored to serve in this role. LULAC is a non-partisan organization that consists of people from all walks of life and perspectives. Our organization must move forward by continuing to recruit and inspire youth and young adults to participate.  We provide them with the resources to become leaders and have many members that are outstanding models and mentors.”

Moran has more than three decades working for LULAC’s mission.  2008 to the present she served as the LULAC National Parliamentarian, 2004-2008, National Vice President for Women, 2001-2004, State Director, LNESC-SA Co-Founder, 1999-2001, Deputy State Director,  and Council President #4421 in 1985. She has been involved in the community since 1970.

Moran said, “We must unite – that is what LULAC is all about. I want to see unity in this organization, bringing all our talent and leadership together to make a difference. At the end of the day, we are here for a common cause, to promote civil rights.

It is the first time a husband and wife both served as national president of the organization and the third woman in 81 years to hold this position. The first woman president was Belen Robles and the second to hold the position was Rosa Rosales.

Margaret’s vision includes the following:

• A 100% expansion of LULAC Councils in every university across the nation with a significant Latino enrollment and supporting their issues.
• Targeting growth of LULAC in under-represented areas.
• Support of comprehensive immigration reform with a path to citizenship, effective health care reform, the Dream Act, worker’s rights, addressing social justice and human rights issues.
• Increasing ongoing efforts for Women’s issues.
• Funding a mentoring program for LULAC youth and young adults.
• Expanding financial resources and funding for new educational programs.
• Appointments of regional LULAC leadership training coordinators.
• Establishing regional summits for grass roots membership participation.
• Implementation of LULAC’s five-year strategic plan.
• Engaging members and listening to their ideas.
• Restoring the LULAC reserve fund.
• Spearheading an aggressive LULAC building fund.