Promise Arizona Receives NCLR Affiliate Award for Advocacy

on

PHOENIX—Today, Promise Arizona (PAZ) received the NCLR (National Council of La Raza) Affiliate Award for Advocacy for their partnership with NCLR and work advocating for policy changes that advance the well-being of the Latino community.

PAZ’s history is the story of change in Arizona. As SB 1070, Arizona’s infamous anti-immigration bill made its way to the state’s governor—several community leaders, including Petra Falcon, now PAZ’s executive director, held a vigil outside the State Capitol, demanding that the divisive bill not be signed into law. The vigil soon grew from several individuals to one hundred to more than a thousand. Out of this determination to create a more inclusive state, PAZ was born with a mission to nurture the Latino community and establish the next generation of Arizona’s leaders.

“Promise Arizona embodies the type of courageous determination and hard work that is needed now across the states to stop efforts to divide Americans by using toxic rhetoric and passing destructive legislative measures like SB 1070. They are working every day to forge a better future and dignity for all residents of the state of Arizona. It’s our honor to recognize Promise Arizona with Affiliate Award for Advocacy,” said Eric Rodriguez, Vice President of NCLR’s Office of Research, Advocacy and Legislation.

During the 2016 election, PAZ worked with NCLR to register more than 3,000 new voters. Additionally, in March 2017, PAZ was Arizona’s delegation leader at the 2017 Community Leaders Action Summit, leading the delegation as they advocated for the needs of Arizona’s Hispanic community at the U.S. Capitol.

“We are proud and grateful to have such a committed partner because it’s by working together at all levels and across many communities that we will succeed in protecting and defending the Latino community from harm while helping to make America strong,” Rodriguez added.

PAZ and NCLR have most recently partnered for the NCLR Citizenship Assistance Program to empower the Latino and immigrant communities to naturalize. Their current goal through the next year is to increase the number of individuals in their local community who decide to become citizens.

“The work that Promise Arizona has been blessed to do has always been about strengthening the lives of immigrant families, Latinos, women and young people, and empowering them so they can thrive and build strong communities. Everyone deserves to live their lives to their fullest potential, and Promise Arizona is committed to providing all communities with the tools they need to achieve that goal,” said Petra Falcon, Executive Director, PAZ.

“To receive NCLR’s Affiliate Award for Advocacy is a great honor because it validates the critically important work we do to better people’s lives. We live in a great nation. It’s a nation of power and wealth. But Promise Arizona, like NCLR, believes we need to open our hearts and minds to newcomers and the less fortunate and not try to turn our back on the world. The struggles faced by the countless families and communities Promise Arizona helps everyday are greater now than ever, but we will persist, we will persist tirelessly, and we will triumph because our fight is just and good and necessary. We thank NCLR for standing with us and helping to fight for justice in Arizona and across our nation. Juntos venceremos,” concluded Falcon.