Washington, DC– The National Council of La Raza (NCLR)—the largest national Latino civil rights and advocacy organization in the U.S.—will provide a forum for Latino youth voices at a town hall titled “A New Voz (Voice), A New Vote: Latino Youth and the Media” on Saturday, July 12 as part of its Líderes (Leadership) Summit during the 2008 NCLR Annual Conference in San Diego. Earlier that same day, the youth attendees will also have an opportunity to discuss Latino political involvement over breakfast with U.S. Representative Loretta Sanchez (D-CA).

As part of the Hispanic electorate, Latino youth will play a significant role in choosing our next president. The primary season reflected the energy and strength of this growing demographic. Young Latinos represent a large share (13.2%) of the Latino vote and are growing even faster than the overall Latino electorate at a rate of nearly 60% voter growth between the 2000 and 2004 elections. Latino youth will be a major voice in the 2008 presidential elections.

Featured town hall panelists include Ruben Navarrette, Jr., Nationally Syndicated Columnist, San Diego Union Tribune; Leslie Sanchez, CNN Political Analyst and Republican Strategist; Maria Perez-Brown, Senior Vice President, Programming, Sí TV; Reynaldo Casas, Public Affairs Manager, MTV Tr3s; and Felipe Vargas, Founder, Film Inquiry Research Media Education (FIRME). The panelists will discuss the potential impact of the Latino youth vote and the controversial media portrayal of Hispanics during this election season.

The NCLR Líderes Summit enhances young people’s experience at the NCLR Annual Conference by providing an exciting and challenging leadership experience. The Summit takes place within the NCLR Annual Conference, and it brings together more than 400 students, activists, and young Latino leaders (ages 14–25) from all over the country. Participants develop leadership and teamwork skills, discuss community involvement and empowerment, and learn about Latino community issues, while also participating in the overall NCLR Annual Conference.

The NCLR Líderes Initiative will use the Internet to amplify the Latino youth voice through on-site blogging during the 2008 NCLR Annual Conference, July 12-15 in San Diego. Visit http://lideres.nclr.org to access the blog and for more information on the Líderes Summit.

The NCLR Annual Conference is the single largest gathering of its kind in the Latino community. More than 20,000 community organization leaders, activists, and volunteers; elected and appointed officials; members of the corporate, philanthropic, and academic communities; senior citizens; college students; and youth are expected to participate this year.

Visit www.nclr.org to learn more about the 2008 NCLR Annual Conference and to download publications.

Breakfast with U.S. Representative Loretta Sanchez (D-CA)

Líderes Town Hall—“A New Voz, A New Vote: Latino Youth and the Media”

###