National Council of La Raza

The National Council of La Raza (NCLR) is a non-profit, and non-partisan political advocacy group in the United States. Its stated focus is on reducing poverty and discrimination, and improving opportunities for Hispanics. According to the organization's website, it is "the largest constituency-based national Hispanic organization, serving all Hispanic nationality groups in all regions". To this end, the NCLR does research, disseminates information through reports, press releases, and its website, provides expert testimony, and lobbies for causes important to Hispanics. To fund programs, the NCLR partners with philanthropic organizations, such as the Ford Foundation, and corporations, such as Citigroup and Wal-Mart. The NCLR serves its constituency by means of affiliations with almost 300 community organizations. The NCLR is headquartered in Washington, D.C. and maintains eight regional offices. The current president is Janet Murguia.^[1]

History

The NCLR grew out of efforts to form a national civil rights organization that would advocate for Mexican Americans. In the early 1960s, the National Organization for Mexican American Services (NOMAS), persuaded the Ford Foundation to fund a study of Mexican Americans. The Foundation went further, hiring consultants such as Ernesto Galarza to draw conclusions from the data and make recommendations on ways to improve conditions for Mexican American communities.^[2]

The Southwest Council of La Raza formed in Phoenix, Arizona, in 1968, after meetings between regional organizers. Financial support from the Ford Foundation, the National Council of Churches, and the United Auto Workers allowed the SWCLR to get off the ground, and the organization received 501(c)(3) status later that year.^[3]

In 1972, the SWCLR lost federal funding for refusing to endorse Richard Nixon during his reelection campaign.^[2]

In 1973, the SWCLR became a national organization, changed its name to the National Council of La Raza, and moved its headquarters to Washington, D.C. Early disagreements among the leadership led the Ford Foundation to threaten to withhold funding, resulting in President Henry Santiestevan's resignation and the election of Raul Yzaguirre.^[4]

In 1973, the NCLR bylaws were amended to require equal representation of women on the board of directors.^[5]

Beginning in about 1975, the NCLR began expanding its focus to include the issues of non-Mexican American Latinos. This policy was officialized in 1979. By 1980, the NCLR was funded almost entirely by the federal government. When the Reagan Administration slashed social funding, the NCLR was forced to cut back the scale of its operations. As a result, the organization began focusing on national policy and concentrating its efforts in Washington, D.C. After the 1996 Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Act, state governments exerted more control over the disbursement of welfare funds, which led to the development of the NCLR's Field Advocacy Project to influence decisions at the state and local levels.

Criticism

The NCLR is often criticized by commentators for allegedly espousing separatist or irredentist sentiments.^[6]

Anti-illegal immigration websites, such as American Patrol Report and The American Resistance, accuse the NCLR of encouraging illegal immigration to the United States, and the latter hosts an exhaustive list of companies and organizations that donate to the NCLR.^[7]

Some critics, including conservative talk radio host George Putnam, consider the NCLR exclusionary in its approach to civil rights, citing a comment made by Janet Murguía at an award ceremony for U.S. Attorney General Alberto Gonzales: "We are going to put our [Latino] people first".^[8]

The most powerful person to criticize the NCLR was Republican congressperson Charlie Norwood of Georgia's ninth district. In a December 2005 edition of the consevative publication Human Events, Representative Norwood criticized congressional earmarking of four million dollars for NCLR housing initiatives. He said that "we ought not to send taxpayer's money to people who absolutely advocate perhaps using that money for the country not to follow the law of the land and not to secure our country's borders."^[9]

On September 20, 2006, Representative Norwood issued a press release calling the NCLR a "radical [...] pro-illegal immigration lobbying organization that supports racist groups calling for the secession of the western United States as a Hispanic-only homeland" and accusing the organization of undermining "the ability of state and local police to fight criminal illegal aliens."

The NCLR immediately issued a press release to refute Norwood's claims and to demand an apology. He offered to extend an apology on seven conditions:

1. Denounce and sever all ties with MEChA and any other organizations with which they are now or have ever been associated or funded which held to the racist doctrines published by MEChA.
2. Denounce the statement "For La Raza to do [sic]. Fuera de La Raza nada" [“For the race everything, for those outside the race nothing”] as repugnant, racist, and totally incompatible with American society or citizenship.
3. Repudiate all claims that any current American territory rightfully belongs to Mexico.
4. Acknowledge the right of all Americans to live wherever they choose in the United States, and that no section or region of this country should be segregated by race or ethnic heritage.
5. Commit to sponsorship of nationwide educational programs to combat racism and anti-Semitism in the Hispanic community.
6. Seek neutral, third party supervision to ensure that all community and individual assistance programs offered by La Raza and groups supported by La Raza are accessible to all Americans, regardless of race or ethnicity, and that participation in those programs is fully compliant with Equal Opportunity laws.
7. Acknowledge the internationally recognized borders of the United States, the right of the citizens of the United States to determine immigration policy through the democratic process, and the right of the United States to undertake any and all necessary steps including military action to effectively enforce immigration law and defend its borders against unauthorized entry.

The NCLR responded to Norwood's conditions apology in a point-by-point press release defending its policies, which it claims have never been racially or ethnically exclusionary. ^[10] It also disputes the charge that it supports illegal immigration, constantly reiterating its support for effective and reasonable border security and immigration-law enforcement. In a speech in San Diego, NCLR CEO Janet Murguía stated: "First, as a sovereign nation, the United States has the right to determine who comes and who stays. . . [It also] has a right to consider enforcement at a variety of levels, including border enforcement, interior enforcement, and workplace enforcement. . . We support enforcement... [because] as Americans, we recognize it's the right thing to do."^[11]

See also

• Esteban E. Torres NCLR-Harvard Mid-Career Fellowship Program

References

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