A message from AAJ –

Please note that the National Council of La Raza is the latest in a string of Latino organizations asking that the boycott of Arizona be called off.  Chicanos por la Causa and Somos America, the two leading Latino groups in Arizona, have asked that people no longer boycott Arizona.  Leaders of these groups have offered to speak at our convention regarding the situation in Arizona.  Rep. Grijalva, a leading Latino voice in Arizona, has posted a plea on his congressional website asking that people return to Arizona and no longer honor the boycott.

The state law has been eviscerated in court decisions.  Rather than continue to punish Arizona citizens, including the many Latino low-wage workers who depend upon tourist business for their livelihoods, Latino leaders in Arizona are uniformly asking for meetings to resume and people to visit Arizona.   We at AAJ are locked into a hotel contract that requires a major penalty for canceling the convention.  While we considered doing so, the penalty we face and subsequent actions by Latino leaders asking that we not boycott Arizona resulted in AAJ’s decision to go forward with the convention in Arizona and to have a major focus on immigration as a part of the convention. 

Subject Line: National Council of La Raza Lifts Its Boycott of Arizona

Release Date: Sep 12, 2011

The National Council of La Raza, the nation’s largest Hispanic civil rights and advocacy group, has called off its boycott of Arizona and will no longer discourage meeting groups from convening in the Grand Canyon State.

La Raza announced the decision on Sept. 9 in a letter to the Real Arizona Coalition, a diverse collection of businesses, interfaith groups and community leadership organizations—including the Greater Phoenix Convention & Visitors Bureau—that had asked for the boycott to be lifted.

In its letter to the Real Arizona Coalition, La Raza stated:
“… We understand and appreciate the reasons why you believe the boycott should end.  In that vein, we are also aware of the hardship it has imposed on many of the workers, businesses, and organizations whose interests we seek to advance. We are hopeful that the more respectful and civil tone that you and many others have worked so hard to establish in recent months will continue.

In that spirit, effective immediately, our three organizations will suspend the boycott and cease all efforts to discourage conventions or meetings in Arizona, or to discourage our partners from participating in such meetings. In addition, we will communicate our decision to our allies and partners who supported the boycott in the hope that they will join us.”

The letter was signed by Janet Murguía, President and CEO of National Council of La Raza; Wade Henderson, President and CEO of the Leadership Conference of Civil and Human Rights; and Karen Narasaki, President and Executive Director of the Asian American Justice Center.

La Raza has not issued a formal announcement to the media about the lifting of the boycott, but The Arizona Republic obtained a copy of the Washington-based group’s letter to the Real Arizona Coalition and reported the news on Sept. 10.

From -Greater Phoenix Convention & Visitors Bureau

The American Association for Justice will be holding their 2012 Winter Convention at the Arizona Biltmore.  The planning committee for the convention has many special events and topics planned to address the issues in Arizona and across the country relating to immigration.   Visit the convention website for the most up to date information www.justicewinterconvention.org