The Nation's Leading Hispanic Advocacy Coalition Expands with the National Association of Latino Arts and Cultures

The National Hispanic Leadership Agenda (NHLA), a coalition of the nation's preeminent Latino advocacy organizations, announced six new members of its coalition, one of which includes the National Association of Latino Arts and Cultures. Other new members span the environmental, civic engagement, labor, and mental health sectors. This surge in NHLA's membership follows one of the most anti-Latino election cycles in over half a century.

The additional members are GreenLatinos, Mi Familia Vota, the National Association of Hispanic Journalists, the National Day Laborer Organizing Network, and the National Latina/o Psychological Association. With these new members, NHLA is now comprised of 46 national organizations and is the strongest that it has ever been.

"The six organizations joining the NHLA today represent the incredible strength and diversity of Latino advocacy in this nation. They each bring added expertise and energy that will help expand the reach and power of our coalition. This comes at a critical time as our community faces multiple threats from the Trump administration and Congress, in the form of anti-immigrant and anti-worker policies and appointments, actions that roll back environmental rules necessary for protecting our air and water from contamination, and proposals to slash funding for the arts, health care, and other important services.

As threats to Latinos grow each day, so too does Latino organizing power. The voices that are joining our coalition today will help us fight these threats so that we can protect and enhance the well-being of Latinos and the nation as a whole," said Hector Sanchez Barba, Chair of NHLA and Executive Director of the Labor Council for Latin American Advancement.

"The further strengthening of NHLA through the addition of these new members sends a clear and strong message that Donald Trump's apparent goal of marginalizing the nation's largest minority group will not succeed," said Thomas A. Saenz, NHLA Vice Chair and MALDEF President and General Counsel. "The Latino community will be heard loud and clear in the nation's capital about preserving our nation's most essential and unifying values."

"The National Association of Latino Arts and Cultures (NALAC), takes pride in joining the National Hispanic Leadership Agenda to address the complex issues impacting our communities. We share the coalition's values and priorities and look forward to contributing to an agenda of collective expertise and knowledge to improve the lives of Latinos. NALAC believes in the human right to practice culture and our membership in NHLA will bring greater visibility and opportunities for Latino arts and culture," said Maria López De León, President and CEO of The National Association of Latino Arts and Cultures (NALAC). NALAC is the nation's leading nonprofit organization exclusively dedicated to the promotion, advancement, development, and cultivation of the Latino arts field.

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