Krissah Thompson, Washington Post
- The nation’s largest civil rights groups are gathering this weekend to set their agendas and gear up for fall’s mid-term elections. The National Council of La Raza will host its convention in San Antonio, while members of the NAACP meet in Kansas City, Mo.
Both groups will engage national and local political leaders on issues ranging from education reform to overhauling immigration law. The faltering economy will also be a central part of their conversations.
Leaders of both organizations, which expect several thousand attendees, said their members have been frustrated by the lack of progress on unemployment, which is disproportionately affecting minorities. The jobless rate is 15. percent for blacks and 12.4 percent for Hispanics, compared to 8.6 percent for whites.
