LULAC

The League of United Latin Citizens, founded in Corpus Christi, Texas, in 1929, was dedicated to the betterment of Americans of Mexican descent. It soon expanded to El Paso with the establishment of LULAC Council 8 in 1933 and Council 9 in 1934. The Hilton Hotel, now the Plaza Hotel, played an important role in LULAC history as the site of numerous local, state, and national events and meetings. The hotel management supported programs such as the Little School of the 400, designed to teach monolingual Spanish-speaking preschool children a basic vocabulary of 400 English words. This Texas LULAC program eventually became the model for President Lyndon B. Johnson's national Head Start program in the war on poverty. LULAC has long promoted education and citizenship as a means of achieving the American dream and today is the oldest, largest, and most influential Hispanic advocacy organization in the United States, with its membership acknowledging the support of the people of El Paso in promoting equal opportunity for the Hispanic community.

El Paso, Texas · United States