Event - The National Council of La Raza (NCLR)

During July 12th through the 14th, several key members of the Open English team attended NCLR’s Annual Conference. The National Council of La Raza (NCLR) is the largest national Hispanic civil rights and advocacy organization in the United States. Through its network of nearly 300 affiliated community-based organizations (CBOs), NCLR reaches millions of US Hispanics in 41 states.

NCLR’s annual conference is the largest gathering of its kind in the Hispanic community, serving as the meeting ground for over 20,000 community leaders, volunteers, elected and appointed officials, as well as members of the corporate, philanthropic, and academic communities. For Open English, it represents an opportunity to meet with other organizations committed to improving the lives of Hispanics.

One of the highlights of the conference, was senator Barack Obama’s keynote. In his speech, the Senator positioned himself as a friend of Latinos, who understands the daily struggles Hispanic families face with education, the economy, health care and immigration. But he also spoke of the need to create a path to citizenship for illegal immigrants by making certain requirements, including English learning.

Obama’s speech came just days after the NCLR challenged McCain and Obama to rein in party rhetoric on immigration. “Senators McCain and Obama have both been leaders in the immigration reform effort and have urged a thoughtful and well-informed debate on this difficult issue,” said Janet Murguía, NCLR President and CEO. “But others in their respective political parties are using inaccurate and inflammatory language to inspire fear and resentment against immigrants for the sake of advancing their political campaigns.”

Obama’s position at the conference was that “[w]e should require them to pay a fine, learn English, and go to the back of the line for citizenship – behind those who came here legally. But we cannot – and should not – deport 12 million people. That would turn American into something we’re not; something we don’t want to be.”

McCain spoke Monday largely about economic issues and finding ways to avoid increasing taxes.

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