William C. Velasquez Institute
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William C. Velasquez Institute
The Southwest Voter Registration Education Project (SVREP), founded in 1974, is the oldest and largest non-partisan Latino voter participation organization in the United States. SVREP was founded by William C. Velasquez Jr. SVREP has registered 2.6 million Latino voters, trained 150,000 leaders and encouraged thousands of individuals to volunteer in their communities. Their slogan is “Su Voto es Su Voz.” History The mission of SVREP is to, “Empower Latinos and other minorities by increasing their participation in the American democratic process SVREP accomplishes this by strengthening the capacity, experience and skills of Latino leaders, networks, and organizations through programs that consistently train, organize, finance, develop, expand and mobilize Latino leaders and voters around an agenda that reflects their values. Thus, SVREP's motto is: "Su Voto Es Su Voz" (Your Vote is Your Voice).” SVREP founder “Willie”, as William C. Velasquez, was known to his colle ...
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San Antonio, Texas
("Cradle of Freedom") , image_map = , mapsize = 220px , map_caption = Interactive map of San Antonio , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = United States , subdivision_type1= State , subdivision_name1 = Texas , subdivision_type2 = Counties , subdivision_name2 = Bexar, Comal, Medina , established_title = Foundation , established_date = May 1, 1718 , established_title1 = Incorporated , established_date1 = June 5, 1837 , named_for = Saint Anthony of Padua , government_type = Council-Manager , governing_body = San Antonio City Council , leader_title = Mayor , leader_name = Ron Nirenberg ( I) , leader_title2 = City Manager , leader_name2 = Erik Walsh , leader_title3 = City Council , leader_name3 = , unit_pref = Imperial , area_total_sq_mi = 504.64 , area_total_km2 = 1307.00 , area_land_sq_mi = 498.85 , area_land_km2 = 1292.02 , area_water_sq_mi = 5.79 , area_water_km2 ...
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Willie Velasquez
William C. Velasquez Jr. (May 9, 1944June 15, 1988) was an American social activist and vote organizer. He founded the Southwest Voter Registration Education Project which worked to expand Latino and Hispanic American interest and participation in the voting process. His group popularized the motto ''Su Voto Es Su Voz'' (Your Vote is your Voice). Biography Velasquez was born to William and María Luisa ( née Cardenas) Velásquez, who were Mexican Americans. His father was stationed in Florida during World War II where he worked as a union organizer. He attended St. Mary's University where in 1967, he helped form the Mexican American Youth Organization and later on earned a B.A. in economics. Velasquez helped form the basis for Raza Unida Party as El Movimiento Social de La Raza Unida. In 1968, Velasquez was boycott coordinator for United Farm Workers and organized strikes at the Rio Grande Valley. He founded the Mexican American Unity Council and then later on became field d ...
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Voter Rights
Voting is a method by which a group, such as a meeting or an electorate, can engage for the purpose of making a collective decision or expressing an opinion usually following discussions, debates or election campaigns. Democracies elect holders of high office by voting. Residents of a jurisdiction represented by an elected official are called "constituents," and the constituents who choose to cast a ballot for their chosen candidate are called "voters." There are different systems for collecting votes, but while many of the systems used in decision-making can also be used as electoral systems, any which cater for proportional representation can only be used in elections. In smaller organizations, voting can occur in many different ways. Formally via ballot to elect others for example within a workplace, to elect members of political associations or to choose roles for others. Informally voting could occur as a spoken agreement or as a verbal gesture like a raised hand or ele ...
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Hispanic And Latino Americans
Hispanic and Latino Americans ( es, Estadounidenses hispanos y latinos; pt, Estadunidenses hispânicos e latinos) are Americans of Spanish and/or Latin American ancestry. More broadly, these demographics include all Americans who identify as Hispanic or Latino regardless of ancestry.Mark Hugo Lopez, Jens Manuel Krogstad and Jeffrey S. PasselWho Is Hispanic? Pew Research Center (November 11, 2019). As of 2020, the Census Bureau estimated that there were almost 65.3 million Hispanics and Latinos living in the United States and its territories (which include Puerto Rico). "Origin" can be viewed as the ancestry, nationality group, lineage or country of birth of the person or the person's parents or ancestors before their arrival in the United States of America. People who identify as Hispanic or Latino may be of any race. As one of the only two specifically designated categories of ethnicity in the United States (the other being "Not Hispanic or Latino"), Hispanics and Latinos f ...
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United States
The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territories, nine Minor Outlying Islands, and 326 Indian reservations. The United States is also in free association with three Pacific Island sovereign states: the Federated States of Micronesia, the Marshall Islands, and the Republic of Palau. It is the world's third-largest country by both land and total area. It shares land borders with Canada to its north and with Mexico to its south and has maritime borders with the Bahamas, Cuba, Russia, and other nations. With a population of over 333 million, it is the most populous country in the Americas and the third most populous in the world. The national capital of the United States is Washington, D.C. and its most populous city and principal financial center is New York City. Paleo-Americ ...
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Congressional Hispanic Caucus
The Congressional Hispanic Caucus (CHC) is an organization of 38 Democratic members of the United States Congress of Hispanic and Latino descent. The Caucus focuses on issues affecting Hispanics and Latinos in the United States. The CHC was founded in December 1976 as a legislative service organization of the United States House of Representatives. The CHC is organized as a Congressional Member organization, governed under the Rules of the U.S. House of Representatives. As of 2021, the CHC is composed entirely of Democrats, although at its founding it was a bipartisan organization. The Republican members left in the late 1990s over policy differences and, in 2003, formed their own group, the Congressional Hispanic Conference. In 2017, the Caucus declined to admit Rep. Carlos Curbelo, who would have been the only Republican member. In 2022, Rep. Mayra Flores, Republican, was denied membership as well. Purpose The Congressional Hispanic Caucus aims to address national and inter ...
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NALEO
The National Association of Latino Elected and Appointed Officials (NALEO) is the 501(c)(4) nonpartisan leadership organization of the nation's more than 6,700 Latino election, elected and appointed Latino (demonym), Latino Official, public officials in the United States. NALEO Educational Fund, founded in 1981, is the 501(c)(3) arm of the organization, with a mission of facilitating full Latino participation in the American political process, from citizenship to public service. History Founded in 1976 by United States House of Representatives, U.S. Representative Edward R. Roybal, Harry Pachon, Robert Garcia, and others recognizing the need for a national network of Latino office-holders aimed at bringing together Hispanic and Latino Americans of all national origin groups, political affiliations, and levels of government. On September 29, 1976, the "National Association of Latino Democratic Officials" was Articles of Incorporation, incorporated. The group adopted its current nam ...
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NCLR
UnidosUS, formerly National Council of La Raza (NCLR) (La Raza), is the United States's largest Latino nonprofit advocacy organization. It advocates in favor of progressive public policy changes including immigration reform, a path to citizenship for illegal immigration, illegal immigrants, and reduced deportations. Founded in 1968 (as NCLR), UnidosUS has regional offices in Chicago, Los Angeles, New York, New York, New York, Miami, Florida, Miami, Phoenix, Arizona, Phoenix, San Antonio and is headquartered in Washington, D.C. History In 1963, a group of Mexican Americans in Washington, D.C., formed the National Organization for Mexican American Services (NOMAS). The organization existed primarily to provide technical assistance to Hispanic groups and bring them together under one umbrella. NOMAS presented a proposal to the Ford Foundation to establish an organization that could provide technical assistance and organizational structure to the Mexican American community. The ...
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American GI Forum
The American GI Forum (AGIF) is a congressionally chartered Hispanic veterans and civil rights organization founded in 1948. Its motto is "Education is Our Freedom and Freedom should be Everybody's Business". AGIF operates chapters throughout the United States, with a focus on veterans' issues, education, and civil rights. Its two largest national programs are the San Antonio-based Veterans Outreach Program, and the Dallas-based Service, Employment, Redevelopment-Jobs for Progress, Inc. (SER). The current National Commander is Lawrence G. Romo. Origin The organization was established in Corpus Christi, the seat of Nueces County, Texas, on March 26, 1948, by Dr. Hector P. Garcia to address the concerns of Mexican-American veterans, who were segregated from other veterans groups. Initially formed to request services for World War II veterans of Mexican descent who were denied medical services by the United States Department of Veterans Affairs, the AGIF soon entered into non- ...
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LULAC
The League of United Latin American Citizens (LULAC) is the largest and oldest Hispanic and Latin-American civil rights organization in the United States. It was established on February 17, 1929, in Corpus Christi, Texas, largely by Hispanics returning from World War I who sought to end ethnic discrimination against Latinos in the United States. The goal of LULAC is to advance the economic condition, educational attainment, political influence, housing, health, and civil rights of Hispanic people in the United States. LULAC uses nationwide councils and group community organizations to achieve all these goals. LULAC has about 132,000 members in the United States. Organization LULAC helps to promote education among Latin Americans in America. LULAC councils provide about one million dollars in scholarships to Hispanics every year. LULAC provides educational programming to disadvantaged youth throughout America. They help out 18,000 Hispanics every year. They also help Hisp ...
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Mexican American Legal Defense And Education Fund
The Mexican American Legal Defense and Educational Fund (MALDEF) is a national non-profit civil rights organization formed in 1968 by Jack Greenberg to protect the rights of Latinos in the United States."MALDEF" entry in ''Los Angeles A to Z: An Encyclopedia of the City and County'', by Leonard and Dale Pitt, published by UC Press in 1997. Founded in San Antonio, Texas, it is currently headquartered in Los Angeles, California and maintains regional offices in Sacramento, San Antonio, Chicago, and Washington, D.C. Background MALDEF was founded in San Antonio in 1968 under the direction of Jack Greenberg. With the help of the League of United Latin American Citizens (LULAC) and the NAACP Legal Defense Fund (LDF), MALDEF got a $2.2 million grant from the Ford Foundation. The grant provided scholarships for more Mexican-American lawyers. In its first three years, MALDEF handled mostly legal-aid cases. Then MALDEF took part in employment discrimination and school funding cases with LD ...
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