The Southwestern Regional LULAC Conference Hosted by LULAC Council 8105 Hosts a Powerhouse of Speakers Saturday in Alamogordo

The Southwestern Regional LULAC Conference begins at 8 a.m. Saturday, Oct. 12, addressing the theme of “Civil Rights & Social Justice, ” with KALHRadio.org and AlamogordoTownNews.org as an early sponsor for the event in both publicity and financial support. 

The day includes lunch and dinner and includes panels and speakers. The keynote address will be presented by Fatima Menendez, Mexican American Legal Defense and Educational Fund (MALDEF) SW Regional Council San Antonio,

Professor Emeritus Cynthia Orozco and Silver City Museum Curator Javier Marruffo are also on the speakers list.

This event, at the New Mexico State University-Alamogordo TAYS Center. A suggested donation of $25 supports the conference. For information connect with oterocountylulac@gmail.com.

Otero County LULAC President Joann Chavez Vullo who has been active for equity and social justice in Otero County in bringing light to the lack of inclusion from the local charter school initiative to ensuring citizens voices in Chaparral are heard is quoted as saying, “Issues of our Hispano community continue today especially with the political division that exists, our community faces voting issues, job and education access related discrimination, women’s rights and these issues often occur with Latino against Latino. The fact that Hispanos are becoming the majority means little if we allow others to conquer and divide.”

The agenda includes three special guests that will be hosting lectures and meet educational sessions to include:

Tom Saenz, President and Lead Counsel of MALDEF. In 2009, Thomas A. Saenz returned to MALDEF as President and General Counsel. He leads MALDEF’s national efforts to promote the civil rights of all Latinos living in the United States. Previously, as Counsel to Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa, Saenz served on the four-person executive team to the mayor, where he provided legal and policy advice on major initiatives. During his four-year tenure with the Mayor’s Office, Saenz helped to lead the legislative effort to change the governance of Los Angeles Unified School District (LAUSD), and served for two years as lead liaison on labor negotiations, with a goal of addressing serious financial challenges in partnership with the City’s workers.

Saenz previously practiced civil rights litigation at MALDEF for 12 years, including four years as Vice President of Litigation. He was MALDEF’s lead counsel in the successful challenge to California’s anti-immigrant Proposition 187, and he led numerous civil rights cases in the areas of immigrants’ rights, education, employment, and voting rights. Saenz achieved several victories against ordinances unlawfully restricting the rights of day laborers, served as lead counsel in the 2001 challenge to California’s congressional redistricting, and initiated the employment discrimination lawsuit resulting in a $50 million settlement with Abercrombie and Fitch. He also served as MALDEF’s lead counsel in two court challenges to Proposition 227, a California English-only education initiative. Saenz was also the lead drafter of the amicus brief on behalf of Latino organizations supporting affirmative action in the U.S. Supreme Court case of Grutter v. Bollinger. More recently, in 2016, Saenz argued before the Supreme Court in United States v. Texas, representing intervenors defending Obama Administration deferred action initiatives.

Saenz recently concluded, after nearly 20 years, his service on the Los Angeles County Board of Education. He also previously served as chair of the National Hispanic Leadership Agenda (NHLA), and continues to serve as a vice chair of the Leadership Conference for Civil and Human Rights. Saenz also serves on the boards of the California Community Foundation and of the Campaign for College Opportunity. In the past, Saenz has served as steering committee co-chair of the California Civil Rights Coalition and as a member of the Los Angeles County Commission on Human Relations, the American Bar Association (ABA) Commission on Hispanic Legal Rights and Responsibilities, the ABA Commission on Immigration, the U.S. Department of Education’s Equity and Excellence Commission, and the California Task Force on K-12 Civic Learning. He has lectured at numerous universities, and for eight years, Saenz taught Civil Rights Litigation as an adjunct lecturer at the University of Southern California (USC) Law School. He has authored numerous publications, in law reviews, anthologies, newspapers, and online journals.

Saenz has been recognized on numerous occasions for his work. He was selected as one of Hispanic Business Magazine’s “100 Most Influential Hispanics” in October 2009. Among many other honors, he received the Instituto de los Mexicanos en el Exterior (IME) Ohtli Award in 2006, the 2010 Corazón Award from Univision, and the ABA Spirit of Excellence Award in 2013.

Saenz was born and raised in southern California. He graduated summa cum laude from Yale University, and he received his law degree from Yale Law School. Saenz served as a law clerk to the Honorable Harry L. Hupp of the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California and to the Honorable Stephen Reinhardt of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit before initially joining MALDEF in 1993.

Another special guest will be Dr. Cynthia Orozco, Professor Emeritus ENMU- Ruidoso. Dr. Cynthia E. Orozco is an award-winning best-selling author, public historian, and educator. She earned degrees at the University of Texas at Austin and UCLA. Orozco has been seen on C-SPAN, heard on National Public Radio, and been invited to the Smithsonian. Teaching first at the University of Texas at San Antonio and the University of New Mexico in Albuquerque she joined Eastern New Mexico University in Ruidoso where she is now Professor Emeritus in History & Humanities.

She is the author of No Mexicans, Women or Dogs Allowed: The Rise of the Mexican American Civil Rights Movement; Agent of Change: Adela Sloss-Vento: Mexican American Civil Rights Activist and Texas Feminist; and Pioneer of Mexican American Civil Rights: Alonso S. Perales. She is the co-editor of Mexican Americans in Texas History, an associate editor of Latinas in the United States: An Historical Encyclopedia, and served as Research Associate at the Texas State Historical Association where she wrote 80 articles on Texas history for the New Handbook of Texas.

The National Association for Chicana and Chicano Studies recently named Dr.Orozco a Lifetime Achievement award as its to "NACCS Scholar," 2023. She also received the National League of United Latin American Citizens (LULAC) Raymond Telles Award in Education, 2023.

A two-time Ford Foundation receipient, Governor Bill Richardson appointed her to the New Mexico Humanities Council. The Texas State Historical Association named Orozco a fellow in 2012 and New Mexico LULAC named her Educator of the Year in 2012. She served as campaign manager for Leo Martinez for Congress in the early 2000s.

Orozco is an Afro-Latina born to Mexican immigrants in Cuero, Texas.

And special guest Javier Marrufo, Silver City Museum Curator. Javier Marruf is the young curator of the Silvet City Museum and the inspiration behind the ongoing and ever expanding exhibition covering the Chihuahua Hill History project. He is passionate with a personal interest in the Chihuahua Hill History project as both a historian and a Chicano born and raised in Silver City. Marrufo received his BA in History from Western New Mexico University in 2016 and has an MA in History. His interest in history stems from his love of southwestern New Mexico. As a child, he was enamored by the intricately painted black and white pottery of the Mimbreños, the tragic tale of Geronimo during the heroic defense of his homeland, and most of all, the countless stories of happiness in the face of great inequality from the mouths of his elders.

His first major project that is ongoing at the museum is the Chihuahua Hill History Project. The Chihuahua Hill exhibition is a collaboration with professional folklorist Dr. Thomas Grant Richardson to create the first comprehensive history of Chihuahua Hill. The exhibit includes excerpts from interviews with long-time residents of the community with ties to Chihuahua hill whose stories and experiences are being documented and made public for the first time via oral storytelling and story boards.

The project aims to change the lack of recorded history by collecting the stories, photographs, and memorabilia from those with connections to ths historic and culturally rich neighborhood.

Lessons learned and the experience of this effort may be a template for better exploration Alamogordo's own Latino and Hispanic heritage and its contributions to the fabric of local culture.

The Southwestern Regional LULAC Conference begins at 8 a.m. Saturday, Oct. 12, at the Tay's Center. We will see you there!

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