Remarks by the President to the National Council of La Raza
Marriott Wardman Park Hotel Washington, D.C.
12:50 P.M. EDT
THE PRESIDENT: Thank you! Thank you so much. (Applause.) What an extraordinary crowd. Thank you. Please have a seat.
It is good to be back with NCLR. (Applause.) It is good to see all of you.
Right off the bat, I should thank you because I have poached quite a few of your alumni to work in my administration. (Laughter.) They're all doing outstanding work. Raul Yzaguirre, my ambassador to the Dominican Republic -- (applause) -- Latinos serving at every level of my administration. We've got young people right out of college in the White House. We've got the first Latina Cabinet Secretary in history, Hilda Solis. (Applause.) So we couldn't be prouder of the work that so many folks who've been engaged with La Raza before, the handiwork that they're doing with our administration. And as Janet mentioned, obviously we're extraordinarily proud of someone who is doing outstanding work on the Supreme Court, Sonia Sotomayor. (Applause.)
Recently, 100 Latino officials from across the government met with Latino leaders from across the country at the White House. I know some of you were there. And I think all who attended would agree that we weren’t just paying lip service to the community. Our work together, not just that day but every day, has been more than just talk.
What I told the gathering at the White House was we need your voice. Your country needs you. Our American family will only be as strong as our growing Latino community. (Applause.) And so we’re going to take these conversations on the road and keep working with you, because for more than four decades, NCLR has