A Hispanic Hate Group That Isn't

Janet Murguia, the National Council of La Raza's president, says she has little use for those who pit groups against each other.

"I don't believe in wedge politics," she told the Union-Tribune's editorial board. "And I don't like people who try to divide and conquer. I prefer messages of unity and those who draw people together around the common good."

What's wrong with this picture? For those who swallow the nonsense from cable news demagogues and conservative radio-talkers that NCLR is a racist and anti-American hate group, it is Murguia's organization that is trying to divide Americans.

After all, critics ask, doesn't "la raza" mean "the race"? So this is the National Council of the Race? How crude.

"We take a lot of heat for our name," Murguia acknowledged. "But historically, I think it's something that our community feels wedded to."

So I was surprised when Murguia said, "We've actually talked about the possibility of changing our name." Yet those conversations stalled. The consensus was that, as Murguia put it, "(the term) is one of those things that is symbolic and represents a broader meaning" than many people assume.

I think a name change is warranted, however. The term — la raza — is a musty throwback to the 1960s. A lot has changed in four decades. The context is different. In the past 40 years, Hispanics have gone from being a fledgling minority to, in some parts of the country, an emerging majority. It's a sign of the importance of the Hispanic vote that both Barack Obama and John McCain are scheduled to address NCLR's 40th annual conference in San Diego this week.

I asked Murguia whether, absent a name change, she wasn't always going to have to combat the perception that her organization cares only about la raza, to the exclusion of everyone else.

"As long as people just look at the surface and base it on what they seem to interpret from our name, that may be the case," she said.

I'll buy that. These days — when it comes to jobs, culture and politics — many Americans are concerned that Hispanics are taking over. But not long ago, the big concern was that Hispanics weren't even able to take care of their own problems: dropping out of school, having babies out of wedlock, not learning English and failing to become citizens. The answer, we were told, was not in more government programs — and amen to that — but for private organizations to step up.

NCLR stepped up. Through its network of grass-roots affiliates around the country and partnering with Fortune 500 companies and like-minded organizations, the group has its hands in everything from after-school programs to credit counseling to citizenship workshops to English courses.

And Murguia isn't just taking heat from conservatives. Liberals are upset over NCLR's support for No Child Left Behind, the educational accountability law that teachers unions hate because it makes their members work harder. Nor were left-wing netroots pleased when, a couple of years ago, Murguia invited White House political adviser Karl Rove to address the annual conference. And open-border activists were upset when, shortly after taking office, Murguia made the case against that vigilante outfit known as the Minutemen by instead calling for the hiring of more trained and uniformed Border Patrol agents.

Taking criticism from the left has to be new for Murguia, who worked in the West Wing of the Clinton White House. The daughter of a steelworker, she acknowledges that — as one of four children in her family who went to law school — she has lived the American dream. She wants to share the experience.

"I want to make sure that NCLR is positioned to offer that chance at the American dream to everyone, including Hispanics in this country," she said.

What a strange thing to hear from the leader of what we have been assured by some less-than-reliable sources is an anti-American hate group.

REPRINTED FROM THE SAN DIEGO UNION-TRIBUNE.

DISTRIBUTED BY CREATORS SYNDICATE INC.