7/12-7/17: National LULAC Convention in Albuquerque Features Many Free Events

The 81st annual 2010 LULAC Convention is being held this year at the Albuquerque Convention Center from today through next Saturday, July 17th. Up to 20,000 people are expected to attend the confab. This year's theme is "New Strategies for Community Empowerment: New Leadership through Action." LULAC's national delegates will discuss issues, set policies and elect the organizational leaders. All activities are open to the public. The events with a meal require the purchase of tickets, but all of the workshops are free. Click to see an agenda summary or the program, which includes a complete schedule of events and other important information about LULAC and the convention (pdf).

"Over a decade has passed since LULAC was in Albuquerque and we return because this is a critical time in our nation's history. Right now, next door in Arizona with SB1070, we are facing potentially unconstitutional laws that encourage racial profiling and discrimination," said LULAC National President Rosa Rosales in a statement released by the organization. "We are having high level Cabinet Secretaries and Assistant Secretaries and national leaders coming to speak to us on this issue along with other key concerns such as diversity, health care and education."

Confirmed speakers and workshop leaders include Secretary of Interior, Ken Salazar; Secretary of Labor, Hilda L. Solis; U.S. Treasurer Rosie Rios; Office of Personnel Management Director Jon Berry; Assistant Secretary for Fair Housing and Equal Opportunity, John Trasvina; Assistant Secretary Elementary and Secondary Education, Thelma Melendez, PhD; Assistant Attorney General, Department of Justice, Tom Perez; NAACP President, Ben Jealous; Assistant Administrator for Water, EPA; Ed Avalos; Assistant Administrator for Water, EPA, Peter Silva; Undersecretary Marketing and Regulatory Programs, DOA, Ed Avalos;, Texas Congressman Silvestre Reyes; and Rep. Joe Baca of California.

Speakers from New Mexico will include Senator Jeff Bingaman;Congressmen Ben Ray Lujan and Rep. Martin Heinrich; Governor Bill Richardson; Lt. Governor Diane Denish; and Hector Balderas, State Auditor.

Workshops: There are a multitude of excellent workshops, but here are a couple that interest me:

LGBT Issues: A session on "Equality: LGBT, Latino LGBT and Allied Communities Advancing Civil Rights" will take place on Wednesday, July 14th, from 2:30 PM to 3:50 PM in the Mesilla room at the Albuquerque Convention Center located at 401 Second Street, NW. RSVP for the workshop here.

Description: Our great civil rights leaders César Chávez and Dolores Huerta built diverse coalitions with our lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) brothers and sisters while fighting for workers’ rights and social justice. In a similar manner, the LULAC National Assembly’s resolutions urging Congress to repeal the discriminatory Don’t Ask Don’t Tell policy (2008) and to pass the Employee Non Discrimination Act (2009) demonstrate a similar spirit of cooperation. This panel will feature prominent LGBT and LGBT Latino leaders who will discuss how our communities can work together on issues of common concern as we demand equality and full civil rights for all. The panelists will discuss the discriminatory “Don’t Ask, Don’t” (DADT) military policy, the Employment Non Discrimination Act (ENDA), civil marriage rights for gay and lesbian couples, and the inclusion of LGBT immigrant rights in our nation’s Immigration Reform.

Moderator: Lisbeth Melendez, Acting Director, Unidas, The National Latina LGBT Human Rights Organization

Panelists:

• Jeremy Pittman, Deputy Field Director, Human Rights Campaign
• Ben Gomez, Servicemembers Legal Defense Network
• Evan Wolfson, Executive Director, Freedom to Marry
• Connie Utada, Policy Counsel, Immigration Equality
• Jesse Garcia, District Deputy Director, LULAC District III, Dallas, TX, President LULAC Rainbow Council 4871

Immigration Reform: On Friday, July 16, there will be two workshops dealing with immigration reform. A town hall on "Comprehensive Immigration Reform: Is It Coming?" will take place from 9:00 AM to 10:20 PM in the San Miguel room and will feature Felicia Escobar, President Obama's senior adviser for immigration policy at the Domestic Policy Council; Marshall Fitz, immigration policy director for the Center for American Progress; and Angelica Salas, executive director of the Coalition for Humane Immigrant Rights of Los Angeles.

Description: Immigration policy is currently one of the most contentious issues in the nation. This discussion will focus on the complexities of immigration reform, the challenges that the Latino community faces, and the likelihood of a new comprehensive immigration reform bill becoming law. Expert panelists will also offer insight on reframing the immigration debate, as well as discuss methods of how people can support this reframing. This briefing is intended to allow key immigration reform leaders to share their ideas on how to best achieve a fair and just immigration plan for America.

A workshop from 2:30 PM to 3:30 PM on "Unite Arizona: The Campaign Against SB1070" in the San Miguel room will feature Mari Alvarado, LULAC Phoenix district director; Arizona state Rep. Ben Miranda; Arizona state Sen. Richard Miranda; and Peter Schey, executive director for the Center for Human Rights and Constitutional Law.

Description: LULAC is firmly opposed to SB1070, an unconstitutional law which makes for the widespread profiling of Latinos in Arizona. In this workshop, human rights experts and Arizona legislators will discuss the effects SB1070 will have in the Latino community. Learn about the campaign to Unite Arizona in opposition to racial profiling and the boycott on SB1070.

Click to RSVP for either or both sessions.

LULAC will also host a three-day job fair, which starts Wednesday. Both private-sector and public-sector employers are coming to the conference to talk about opportunities within their agencies or companies.

On Saturday from 7:00 PM to 11:00 PM, LULAC will host a free concert extravaganza at Tingley Coliseum, "Voces Unidas por America," with Ozomatli, Cristian Castro, Pee Wee and more. You can pick up your free ticket starting Wednesday, July 14, at the Albuquerque Convention Center.

LULAC: The League of United Latin American Citizens, the largest and oldest Hispanic membership organization in the country, advances the economic condition, educational attainment, political influence, health, housing and civil rights of Hispanic Americans through community-based programs operating at more than 700 LULAC councils nationwide.