Brief History of LLANJ

On October 16th and 17th of 1999 at Rutgers University in New Brunswick, 400 dedicated Latino leaders from throughout New Jersey gathered together to structure a new organization designed to guide our Latino communities to develop statewide initiatives for the benefit of all. This was, and continues to be a dynamic group of mature Latino professionals and emerging leaders, who work together to bind mutual strengths while setting aside individual differences to obtain the goal of creating an organization which reflects our true nature, an Alliance of Latino leaders.

We committed ourselves to the difficult and complex task of bringing together representatives from disparate national origin groups (Puerto Ricans, Cubans, Mexicans, Dominicans, Central and South Americans and others). We also sought out organizations serving the Latino community but dedicated to various issues such as social services, commerce, immigration, labor, health, arts, education, law and politics. This alliance for the greater good of the community necessitated a non-partisan approach and fair geographic representation to ensure that no specific community was disenfranchised. We decided to directly confront the barriers and concerns that have long existed in the Latino community; uncertainties that isolate us from each other and may foster weakness, despair and inertia in our community. We knew that the only way to eliminate those barriers and erase doubt was to mobilize the aggregate talents of as many individuals as possible through a democratic process of representation. The goal was to create a “single voice” for a community that, in the past, was not able to speak with one voice.

Dr. Hilda Hidalgo, the keynote speaker of the founding conference, summarized the challenge for us with the following words:

You are here to give birth to an entity that will mobilize our communities as one powerful voice, a masterpiece capable of growing, enduring and meeting the needs of all the members of our diverse Latino communities.

Today, we are proud to report that the “masterpiece entity”, as Dr. Hidalgo called it, born in 1999, is alive and thriving in 2008. It has grown and flourished and is the powerful voice for Latinos today. While we still have much to do in developing greater strength and capacity, LLANJ stands as the strongest Latino organization in our great State.