86R9527 BPG-D
By: Cole H.R. No. 208
R E S O L U T I O N
WHEREAS, The League of United Latin American Citizens is
celebrating the 90th anniversary of its founding from February 17
to 23, 2019; and
WHEREAS, Established in Corpus Christi in 1929, LULAC drew
strength from the rise of the Texas-Mexican middle class and the
growing resistance to discrimination; it became the first
nationwide Mexican American civil rights organization, striving to
end political disenfranchisement, racial segregation, lack of
political representation, and jury exclusion; a multi-issue
organization from its inception, it also sought to address the
roots of poverty and promote economic progress; and
WHEREAS, LULAC organized poll tax drives and fought to
abolish these antidemocratic taxes; in the 1930s, it investigated
charges of discrimination by the Works Progress Administration, and
it later worked with the Federal Employment Practices Commission to
open up jobs for Mexican Americans in the defense industry; members
were engaged in Hernandez v. State of Texas, which secured for
Mexican Americans the right to serve on juries; moreover, they
fought for the appointment of Mexican Americans to important
federal and state positions and supported candidates for public
office; and
WHEREAS, Deeply committed to school desegregation, LULAC was
engaged in such pivotal court cases as Delgado v. Bastrop ISD, which
ended segregation in public schools; from its early years, the
organization promoted education by awarding scholarships, and in
1974, it created a national scholarship fund, as well as the LULAC
National Educational Service Centers; members also participated in
a 1990 case seeking the allocation of a greater share of state funds
to South Texas colleges; along the way, LULAC played a role in the
formation of a number of important organizations, among them the
Mexican American Legal Defense and Educational Fund; and
WHEREAS, In recent years, LULAC has continued its efforts to
protect the civil rights of Latinos while expanding opportunities
in education, employment, economic advancement, and political
influence; its comprehensive suite of nationwide programs support
such worthy causes as affordable housing, health care access,
citizenship, and humanitarian relief; and
WHEREAS, Over the course of nine decades, LULAC has helped to
build a more just, equitable, and vibrant society, and its
contributions have improved the lives of countless Americans; now,
therefore, be it
RESOLVED, That the House of Representatives of the 86th Texas
Legislature hereby recognize February 17 to 23, 2019, as National
LULAC Week and extend to the members of the organization sincere
best wishes for the future.