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A message from League of United Latin American Citizens

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View as web page:
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LULAC Virtual Summit Sucess Is A Preview To Future Advocacy
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Nation’s Oldest and Largest Latino Civil Rights Organization Says COVID-19 Speeds
Up a Move Toward More Use of Technology

Washington, DC - The League of United Latin American Citizens (LULAC) 2020
Virtual Summit, “All for One, One for All: United in Action to Transform America”
drew the largest continuous online audience in the organization’s history during
nearly 30 hours of programming and more than 80 content experts, speakers and
elected officials.

“Our analysis of the summit results clearly shows that this is a step in the
right direction,” says Sindy Benavides, National Chief Executive Officer. “From
the programmatic perspective of LULAC’s mission, we were able to touch more
people in a concentrated period of time while being very cognizant of their
safety and well-being given the coronavirus. We don’t know how long COVID-19 will
last but LULAC is well poised to accelerate and amplify advocacy using virtual
platforms to continue our momentum during a very important time of social change.
As LULAC continues to protect and defend our community in every aspect, we will
use technology for good to transform the way we connect and take actions,” she
added.

The summit’s first address was by House Majority Whip James Clyburn whose
stirring words reminded attendees of the “calling to serve, not for self, but
others” while the “duty of our freedom is to lift those most oppressed” as he
saluted LULAC’s legacy of leadership. Following his address, the plenary session
that followed highlighted the need for coalitions as one of the most important
tools when confronting institutional bias and racism. The conversation featured a
powerhouse of the nation’s leading social justice leaders: LULAC National
President Domingo Garcia, YWCA National Chief Executive Officer Alejandra
Castillo, NAACP President and CEO Derrick Johnson, National Urban League
President and CEO Marc Morial, and Anti-Defamation League (ADL) CEO and National
Director Jonathan Greenblatt.

“Nothing is going to stop LULAC right now,” says Domingo Garcia, National
President. “We don’t have time to wait as Jose and Maria are getting infected and
dying from COVID-19 while keeping the country going. Social justice is not a
black-only or brown-only problem. It is everyone’s problem because this country
needs our labor today as much as it did in the past but now we have the laws, the
votes and the will to use both to create systemic changes. This summit shows
Latinos are technology-savvy and we can use it both as a tool and a weapon to
defend ourselves from those who try to do our communities harm,” he added.

This session was followed by examining the effects of inequities for Latinos in
accessing quality healthcare even for essential COVID-19 services, shifting
immigration policies including family separations to denial of protections for
asylum-seekers and increased swift deportations, plus a timely discussion on the
economic impact the pandemic is having on Latino families and how financial
literacy is vital.

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi opened day two of the LULAC Summit with a call to
action for the country’s 60-million Latinos with a challenge to confront
long-held racial and gender exclusionary practices, replacing these with a new
wave of opportunities for every man, woman and child in America. That message was
affirmed by former HUD Secretary and presidential candidate Julian Castro who
stated change must be accelerated and called November 3rd a “tipping point
moment” in modern history for the United States.

Another historic moment for LULAC was taking a hard look at safety in the
military ranks for Latino men and women. U.S. Secretary of the Army Ryan McCarthy
told the audience that the death of Army Pvt. Vanessa Guillen at Fort Hood,
Texas, was tragedy that must now be a call to action to ensure that women in
uniform as well as men are not the victims of sexual harassment, abuse or worse.
Secretary McCarthy pointed to the creation of an independent committee to examine
reports of Military Sexual Trauma (MST) as evidence that the Army supports
increased oversight and investigations when warranted. Although this is a first
step, LULAC is also calling for a Congressional hearing on soldier Guillen and
the issue of harassment across all branches in the military.

The panel discussion that followed included Captain (Ret.) Quetta Rodriguez,
USMC, Colonel (Ret.) Michelle Hernandez de Fraley Ph.D., U.S. Army, Colonel
(Ret.) Lisa Carrington Firmin, USAF and Lt. Colonel (Ret.) Carrie F. Ricci, U.S.
Army.

Equally important was the panel discussion on the importance of Latinos having
access to technology and broadband internet service during COVID-19 restrictions
limiting face-to-face contacts in schools, government services and other daily
needs. The day’s culminating session was an informative and insightful
examination of the state of our environment and its impact on communities of
color in health, economics and overall quality of life. Also, the panel brought
forth a future generations’ perspective to the conversation and the challenge
that present day political and social leaders must accept as more of the effects
of climate change become irreversible.

An inspiring presentation followed by ABC News Correspondent John Quinoñes who
shared the personal challenges he overcame to achieve a 35-year career on the
network. Today, he is one of American television’s most recognized news talents
as creator and anchor of “What would you do?” The program allows us see ourselves
the way others may.

“Day two of the virtual summit was really about awakening to the fallacy that we
can accept change incrementally when every indicator clearly shows there are
imperatives to confront and time is not our friend,” says Benavides. “From
Speaker Pelosi and Secretary Castro’s powerful messages of putting democracy into
action to danger in the ranks for Latino servicemen and women and then, the real
and practical implications of technology, environmental justice in our daily
lives and one journalist’s life work to uplift the Latino story. LULAC’s focus
has never been clearer, our resolve stronger and the moment to act more necessary
than now,” she adds.

The climax of LULAC’s three-day virtual summit was the participation of Jill
Biden, former Second Lady and wife of Democratic presidential candidate, Joe
Biden. “I guarantee you, Latinos will have a place at the table [ [link removed] ] ,”
she told the national audience referring to a Biden-Harris Administration
following the upcoming presidential election. Dr. Biden was critical of how
Latinos have fared during COVID-19 suffering disproportionate health and economic
losses and assured the nation’s Latinos and communities of color that access to
affordable health care continues to be a worthwhile and necessary goal for
America.

“LULAC leads, never follows because we are about taking action,” says Garcia. “No
government agency whether federal, state or local has done what we have during
this virtual summit of making sure the Latino community has the information they
need to survive. It is wrong for them to be criticized for getting infected from
COVID-19 when it’s President Trump forcing them to go into packing plants dealing
with the virus but then says he has no responsibility for them getting sick. It
is wrong for Latino kids to fail in school but then we fail to make sure they
have access to the internet to access online learning and study at home during
this pandemic and not fall behind. And it is wrong for our community to be told
you don’t vote but then we see Republican governors and other elected officials
doing voter suppression to block our votes. This is the first LULAC virtual
summit and we promise, to continue to stay connected to garner action,” adds
Garcia.

To see an encore presentation of the 2020 LULAC Virtual Summit, which was a 100%
Latino production, please see: www.lulac.org/summit2020/ [ [link removed] ]

# # #

About LULAC
The League of United Latin American Citizens (LULAC) is the nation’s largest and
oldest civil rights volunteer-based organization that empowers Hispanic Americans
and builds strong Latino communities. Headquartered in Washington, DC, with 1,000
councils around the United States and Puerto Rico, LULAC’s programs, services and
advocacy address the most important issues for Latinos, meeting critical needs of
today and the future. For more information, visit www.LULAC.org [ [link removed] ] .







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