The National Council of La Raza (NCLR), the largest Latino advocacy organization, announced its decision to change its name to UnidosUS. The announcement came during the organization’s annual conference in Arizona, where it traces its roots.
“I believe in unity there is strength and in strength, there is power. We see ‘unidos’ as call to action, but it also does signal a message to join us and come together and do what is best for our country,” said Janet Murguia, NCLR President and CEO.
Unidos translates to united, and according to the organization, it was NCLR’s own community which led to the decision to become UnidosUS. Through the name change, the organization seeks to transform into a group that joins all communities.
“Not only are six-in-10 Hispanics millennials or younger, we as a community marry outside of our community more than any other ethnic or racial population … We are changing,” she said.
The name change comes after years of the organization defending itself against right wing groups that applied a literal translation to “la raza” as the “the race” and characterized the advocacy group for Latinos as pushing a racist agenda. NCLR was originally preceded by the Southwest Council of La Raza, until it became a national organization in 1972.
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