National Council of La Raza President and CEO to Testify at Congressional Hearing on the State of Minorities in the Recession

Janet Murguía, President and CEO of NCLR (National Council of La Raza), the largest national Hispanic civil rights and advocacy organization in the United States, will testify on Wednesday, September 23 before the House of Representatives Committee on Oversight and Government Reform on the experiences and unique challenges of Latinos in this difficult economy. The hearing will take place at 10:00 a.m. in Room 2154 of the Rayburn House Office Building in Washington, DC.

NCLR has worked with others in the civil rights community to call attention to the current disparities in minority unemployment rates. In August, the U.S. unemployment rate rose to 9.7%, with Latino unemployment increasing to 13% and Black unemployment to 15.1%. NCLR recently released a major report on Latino workers, Fractures in the Foundation: The Latino Worker’s Experience in an Era of Declining Job Quality, which focuses on the lengths that many Latino workers will go to keep their jobs, often enduring substandard conditions on a daily basis.

The hearing will be followed by a telephonic briefing on this issue at 1:00 p.m. EDT that will include representatives from NCLR, the Center for American Progress (CAP), the National Urban League (NUL), and the National Coalition for Asian Pacific American Community Development (National CAPACD). The telephonic briefing can be accessed by calling (877) 541-6736 and using call-in ID 31841423. Please RSVP to Raúl Arce-Contreras at CAP at rarcecontreras@americanprogress.org or (202) 475-5318.

MEDIA ADVISORY
WHAT: Testimony on the state of minorities in the recession before the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform
WHEN: Wednesday, September 23, 10:00 a.m. EDT
WHERE: Rayburn House Office Building, Room 2154
Washington, DC
WHO: Janet Murguía, NCLR President and CEO”

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