Raul Yzaguirre

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Raul Humberto Yzaguirre (born c. July 22, 1939 in San Juan, Texas) is an American civil rights activist and open borders globalist . He served as the president of the National Council of La Raza, the largest national Hispanic civil rights and advocacy organization in the United States, from 1974 – 2004.

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[edit] Early life

Yzaguirre was born to Mexican American parents Ruben Antonio and Eva Linda (Morin) Yzaguirre, and grew up in the South Valley of Texas. Yzaguirre claims to have grown up during a 'Race War' in Texas.[1] In 1958 he enlisted in the U.S. Air Force Medical Service and served for 4 years.

[edit] Director of the National Council of La Raza

In 1968, the Southwest Council of La Raza was organized with funding from the Ford Foundation. By 1972 organization changed its name to the National Council for La Raza (National Council of the Race in English), and moved its offices to Washington, DC. In 1973, the Ford Foundation, then the NCLR's sole funding source, demanded a change in the organization's focus and direction by threatening to withhold funding, and forced then NCLR President Henry Santiestevan out of office. In 1974, Yzaguirre was elected the second President of the NCLR. The Ford Foundation was pleased with Yzaguirre and continued to be a top donor of the NCLR throughout Yzaguirre term.[2]

Under Yzaguirre, the organization grew from a regional advocacy group with 17 affiliates to over 300 that serve 41 states Puerto Rico and the District of Colombia. Yzaguirre expanded membership criteria so it was not limited only to ethnic Mexicans , but also included Puerto Ricans, Dominicans, Argentines, Cubans and others. This paved the way for the National Council for La Raza to open offices in New York city and San Juan.[3]

Through his tenure Yzaguirre built the NCLR into a 35,000 members organization, with revenues exceeding $42 million, primarily through his courting of donation from Multi-National corporations[4] and organizations that promote globalization.

As President, Yzaguirre often engaged in hyperbole and sensationalism to promote his racial / raza agenda. In the 1990s Yzaguirre said, "US English is to Hispanics as the Ku Klux Klan is to blacks." He was referring to US English the nation's oldest, largest citizens' action group dedicated to preserving the unifying role of the English language in the United States.[5]

[edit] Council on Foreign Relations

Yzaguirre is a member of the David Rockefeller headed Council on Foreign Relations[6] and was a member of the Independent Task Force on North America.[7] In May 2005, task force published Building a North American Community. A plan that calls for greater cooperation between the United States, Canada and Mexico through the degradation of national sovereignty. The plan also calls for the free movement or goods, capital and people in a North American union.

[edit] Board Membership

Sears, Roebuck & Co.; United Way of America; AARP Services Inc.; National Hispanic Leadership Agenda; Salvation Army[8]

[edit] Awards and Honors

In 1979, Yzaguirre was the first Hispanic to receive a Rockefeller Public Service Award for Outstanding Public Service, endowed by John D. Rockefeller, Jr. from the Trustees of Princeton University.

The Mexican government presented Yzaguirre with the Order of the Aztec Eagle in 1993, the highest honor awarded by that country to citizens of another nation.[9]

The NCLR headquarters building in Washington, DC named after him in 2005.

[edit] External links

[edit] References

  1. ^ Ready to rumble: civil rights heavyweight Raul Yzaguirre on life, the evolution of the NCLR, and giving Latinos a fighting chance - National Council of La Raza - Entrevista. Latino Leaders: The National Magazine of the Successful American Latino.
  2. ^ Ready to Rumble. HispanicBusiness.com.
  3. ^ Ready to Rumble. HispanicBusiness.com.
  4. ^ Corporate Partners Program. NCLR. Retrieved on February 2007.
  5. ^ James Crawford : "Anatomy of the English-only Movement," conference paper, University of Illinois, March 21, 1996
  6. ^ List of 2001 CFR Members. Chester L McWhorter Sr. Retrieved on 2001.
  7. ^ Building a North American Community, Task Force Members. Council on Foreign Relations. Retrieved on 2007.
  8. ^ Ready to Rumble. HispanicBusiness.com.
  9. ^ En honor de Don Raul. En honor de Don Raul. Retrieved on 1993.
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