Highlights from the UnidosUS 2024 Annual Conference

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UnidosUS Convened 1,500 Latino Leaders and Advocates and Honors Trailblazers 

LAS VEGAS, NV – UnidosUS, the nation’s largest Latino civil rights and advocacy organization, hosted its Annual Conference in Las Vegas, Nevada, and convened one of the largest gatherings of Latinos working to solve their most pressing issues across the country and create opportunities for all communities.  

The 2024 UnidosUS Annual Conference, “Our Time is Now!” shed light on the critical efforts of our leaders and advocates, including closing the Latino homeownership gap, increasing access to affordable healthcare and building political power for Latinos in this critical election year. 

Creating Meaningful Change for the Latino Community 

UnidosUS President and CEO Janet Murguía kicked off the first day of the Conference delivering passionate remarks about the power of Latinos in American democracy, while also recognizing that she has seen increased levels of ambivalence about the upcoming elections.  

“For decades, we have worked hard to naturalize, register, educate and mobilize voters in election after election, building our community power through the ballot box one vote at a time,” Murguía said. “With each election, we’ve established the Latino community as a deciding factor and have successfully redefined the electoral map to the presidency.” 

 She fiercely denounced mass deportations and any efforts to eliminate DACA and praised President Joe Biden and his administration for their recent efforts to promote compassionate immigration relief and reform by providing protection from deportation for undocumented children and spouses of US citizens.

Murguía ended her remarks with a rally cry for Latino communities to use their voices and power at the ballot box, “We have to use the power of our voice and, above all, come election time, we have to use the power of our vote. Our time is now! ¡Es nuestro momento!” 

Janet Murguía’s full remarks are available to watch here. 

Premio HOME Awards $1.1 million in Grants to Local Organizations 

During the conference, the UnidosUS HOME (Home Ownership Means Equity) initiative announced it will award $1.1 million in grants to local housing organizations working to make homeownership a reality for Latinos nationwide.

The grants were awarded through HOME’s national competition, Premio HOME. Eighteen organizations from 14 states were selected as winners and runner ups for their innovative work addressing our country’s housing supply crisis.  

The complete list of winners and runners-up is available here.   

UnidosUS Presents Texas’ The Concilio with Affiliate of the Year Award 

During the Annual Conference, UnidosUS awarded The Concilio the 2024 Affiliate of the Year award, the highest honor bestowed to an UnidosUS Affiliate organization for its exceptional work serving its community. 

 

“UnidosUS Affiliates work tirelessly to tackle a variety of issues that affect Latino communities across the country,” said Vice President of Affiliate Partnerships & Development Irene Cuyún. “Having served the North Texas area for over 40 years, The Concilio embodies the Affiliates’ transformative impact in advancing equity for Latinos through their high-impact programming in education, wealth and health.” 

 In addition to the Affiliate of the Year award, UnidosUS recognized the extraordinary work of our Affiliates with regional awards. The 2024 Regional Affiliates of the Year include:  

UnidosUS Honors Latino Trailblazers 

During its Annual Conference, UnidosUS proudly honored four Latino leaders and trailblazers for their exemplary work in advancing the Latino community. UnidosUS President and CEO Janet Murguía presented the awards during the gala on the final night of the three-day event.  

“UnidosUS is committed to uplifting and celebrating leaders in our community who go above and beyond to make meaningful change toward equity and excellence for Latinos across various communities,” said Janet Murguía. “This year, we are proud to present these awards to changemakers who have made significant contributions to the betterment of the Latino community and to our nation.”  

 This year’s awardees include:  

  • The Maclovio Barraza Award for Leadership: Astrid Silva, Dream Big Nevada 
  • The Ruben Salazar Award for Communications: Hector Tobar, Author 
  • The Raul Yzaguirre President’s Award: Dr. Richard Besser, Robert Wood Johnson Foundation