Dr. Juan Andrade, Jr., a product of the Latino Civil Rights Movement, was hired to teach civics in a Texas public school. His classroom was primarily composed of Mexican-American children, many of whom were children of migrant farm workers and spoke little English. After teaching for three days, Dr. Andrade was fired and arrested for speaking Spanish in his own classroom. This incident prompted Dr. Andrade to create an institution in which Latinos could empower themselves to challenge the status quo.

Established in 1982, the mission of the USHLI is to fulfill the promises and principles of democracy by promoting education and leadership development, empowering minorities and similarly disenfranchised groups through civic engagement and research, and by maximizing participation in the electoral process. 


Since our inception, USHLI has:
- Registered 2.3 million new voters
- Published 425 reports on Latino demographics in the Almanac of Latino Politics
- Sponsored 42 annual national conferences, each attended by leaders from 40 states
- Trained over 1.1 million present and future leaders
- Awarded over $1.4 million in scholarships and internships.

Additionally, USHLI has been honored by the National Immigration Forum for its work in registering newly naturalized citizens to vote and was named “National Organization of the Year” in 2014 by Univision.

USHLI

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