Thank you and welcome.

In the early Spring of 2006, NCLR Affiliates, board members and staff joined more than 1 million people who put on white tee shirts and took to the streets in one of the largest peaceful marches this country has ever seen.

We protested against proposed criminal sanctions. We called for an end to the xenophobia and hate that surrounds the immigration debate. And we championed comprehensive immigration reform.

We had it right in 2006. We knew what it would take to have our voices heard above the anger raised in the halls of Congress and vented over the nation's airwaves. We said, "Today we march," "Tomorrow we vote."

Over the next two years, people would ask me, "When is the next march? Where should we go next?" My answer has always been the same:

The march that matters most is the march to the polls on Election Day.

Last year marked NCLR's 40th Anniversary. For forty years, we have talked about the day when the Latino community would have enough votes to truly make a difference in Washington.

For forty years, we have talked about the day when we could take our rightful place at the table of American politics.

For forty years, we have worked hard and struggled for the day when our voices would finally be heard.

Well, that day is here. That day is now. Ten million Latinos turned out to vote in this election, a stunning 32% increase over the last presidential race. And America heard our voice loudly and clearly in state after state, primary after primary and election after election across this great country of ours.

And all of you helped to make it happen. You raised the funds, you built the awareness, you organized, you registered voters, and you got them to the polls. We can all be proud of what we accomplished this past year.

This would not have been possible without:

• NCLR's partners in the Ya Es Hora campaign -- NALEO, SEIU, Univision, Impremedia -- who together helped more than 1.5 million people apply for citizenship in 2007 and 2008.
• The 30 NCLR Affiliates and other participants in our Latino Empowerment and Advocacy Project that registered more than 25,000 new voters and helped more than 60,000 others get to the polls.
• And our partner Democracia USA, which registered more than 138,000 new voters in 2008, a third of them young voters. (Recognize Jorge Mursuli to take a bow).

It was an historic vote. We elected the first African American to the highest office in the land -- and our community took its rightful place at the table of American democracy.

But we would be naïve to think our work is done. We may have taken hold of the political brush, but now it's time to paint our future. Tonight, I'd like to talk about what that future holds for our community.

It holds three things: Opportunity, responsibility and accountability.

First to opportunity:

Our vote gives us the opportunity to have our voice heard on issues that have a direct consequence in the lives of Hispanic families.

Last month, I was at signing ceremony where President Barack Obama signed the reauthorization of the State Children’s Health Insurance Program (SCHIP). Through that single act, millions of children including 500,000 legal immigrant children will become eligible for health insurance.

One of those children is a two-year-old in Maryland named Yoharis Tomayo. Yoharis was born with a congenital heart defect and should have had an operation when she was 18 months old.

Now, thanks to this legislation, she will be able to have that life-saving operation and the chance to grow up to be the strong and healthy young woman she deserves to be.

That could not have happened before this election. Indeed, we have struggled for a decade to enact this legislation. Yet, because we came out to vote last year, that bill was signed into law.

Our community owes President Obama and his team our gratitude for his willingness to address this issue so early in his Administration.

We also need to recognize some of our recent Capital Awards winners for their leadership on this issue. Representative Lincoln Diaz-Balart, Rep. Hilda Solis and in the Senate, Senator Bob Menendez. Their commitment and passion was indispensable to our success.

Together, these leaders showed how opportunity can be turned into reality when we put our community’s interests above partisanship.

But our newfound opportunity must be accompanied by a renewed sense of responsibility to help our country and our community rise to the challenges that face us in these difficult times.

Challenges such as the one facing a widow in Arizona and her three daughters, two of whom are disabled. This Latina single mother's skyrocketing insurance rates made it nearly impossible to keep up with her mortgage payments for the home her family has lived in for nearly 20 years. Thanks to NCLR affiliate Community Housing Resources of Arizona, she was able to keep their home.

With foreclosure rates at an all time high NCLR has helped 7,000 families across the country keep their homes. That is the kind of responsibility we bring every day to home ownership, education, healthcare, civil rights and immigration.

Last week, when President Obama addressed a joint session of Congress, he closed by saying, "These stories tell us something about the spirit of the people who sent us here.

"They tell us that even in the most trying times, amid the most difficult circumstances, there is a generosity, a resilience, a decency, and a determination that perseveres; a willingness to take responsibility for our future and for posterity."

He's talking about us. We are responsible for the future and the posterity of our community.

But just as opportunity comes with responsibility, the price of leadership has always been accountability.

Tonight, I promise that no one will work harder than our team at NCLR to train our workers for the new economy, save our homeowners from foreclosure, give our people access to healthcare, educate our children and to enact comprehensive immigration reform.

But we cannot do this alone.

Everyone in this room needs to go beyond voting and stay engaged in the political process in every way to make sure that their voices are heard.

Conventional wisdom used to be that most states were red and blue, and that the electoral map was largely fixed and unchangeable.

This year, our community put into play states like Florida, Nevada, New Mexico, Colorado, Indiana, North Carolina, and Virginia. In so doing, we changed the political roadmap to the White House…some say forever.

Each of us shares in this mandate. Each of us is accountable to those voters, especially the 2.5 million new Latino voters, who came to the polls. Each is accountable to ensure that their ballots were not in vain.

Make no mistake. We are at a unique moment in history for our country and our community. In just the same way that some asked: Can we really mobilize in the presidential election? Can we deliver an historic turnout of the Latino vote? Now they are asking: Can we step up with our new voice to create change and progress for this country that we love? Can we make a difference? The answer of course is:

Yes we can.
Si se puede.
The election is over. Our movement continues. Adelante.

Thank you.

Download Janet Murguía Capital Awards Speech 2009