Approximately 15,000 visitors from across the country will descend upon Milwaukee this week for the League of United Latin American Citizens National Convention & Exposition.
The four-day event, taking place July 10 to 13 at the Wisconsin Center in downtown Milwaukee, will include speakers, workshops, youth programming and seminars on hot-button political topics such as affordable housing, equal access to social services and public safety.
It will also include a town hall discussion on July 11 with democratic presidential candidates Bernie Sanders, Elizabeth Warren, Julian Castro and Beto O’Rourke, said David Cruz, publicity and communications director at LULAC.
Presidential candidate Marianne Williamson will speak at the Women’s Hall of Fame Luncheon on July 12.
In additional to the presidential town hall, Warren will hold a separate town hall discussion on July 11 at South Division High School on Milwaukee’s south side.
The convention marks the 90th anniversary for LULAC, which touts itself as the nation’s largest and oldest civil rights volunteer-based organization. The Washington D.C.-based, nonpartisan group has 137,000 members, and works to advocate for Hispanic Americans throughout the U.S. and Puerto Rico.
VISIT Milwaukee estimates the event will generate more than $2.5 million in economic impact to the area.
Cruz said Milwaukee was selected as host city for this year’s convention because of LULAC’s strong bond with the city’s Hispanic community.
“(Milwaukee) is very diverse and represents the type of communities that we worked in for the past nine decades,” he said.
Milwaukee Mayor Tom Barrett, Gov. Tony Evers, Lt. Gov. Mandela Barnes and Milwaukee County Executive Chris Abele will also speak at the convention.
