[Congressional Record Volume 150, Number 31 (Thursday, March 11, 2004)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E340]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




     RECOGNIZING THE ACHIEVEMENTS OF LULAC ON ITS 75TH ANNIVERSARY

                                 ______
                                 

                          HON. HILDA L. SOLIS

                             of california

                    in the house of representatives

                       Wednesday, March 10, 2004

  Ms. SOLIS. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to honor the League of United 
Latin American Citizens as it celebrates its 75th year of advancing the 
economic condition, educational attainment, political influence, health 
and civil rights of Hispanics in the United States.
  LULAC's founding 75 years ago signaled the end of one era and the 
beginning of another. For decades, the Hispanic community had been 
engulfed in an environment of inequality, discrimination and injustice. 
The creation of an institution like LULAC initiated a positive change 
in the future direction of the Hispanic community as it embodied the 
will of a people to overcome these barriers to social inclusion and 
civic participation and claim their rights as U.S. citizens, to access 
the American dream.
  Today, LULAC represents Hispanics in most parts of the United States, 
as well as Puerto Rico and Guam. It also serves as a cornerstone for 
some of the most successful Hispanic national organizations. For 
example, LULAC formed the American GI Forum to address the rights of 
Hispanic veterans. LULAC also helped to create the Mexican American 
Legal Defense and Education Fund to function as the legal arm of the 
Hispanic community.
  LULAC's record of activism, whether fighting for voting rights and 
full access to the political process, equal educational opportunities 
for Hispanic children, or the rights of women and full inclusion in 
American society, is a testimony that it is an organization that will 
forever address those issues that impact the lives and future of all 
Hispanic Americans. I commend LULAC on its 75 years of service and the 
innumerable contributions it has made to our Hispanic community and our 
country as a whole.

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