KC to host civil rights group’s convention in 2015
Mar 14, 2013, 8:52 PM
KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) – A national Hispanic civil rights group that pulled an earlier event out of Kansas City, Mo., to protest the appointment of a member of an anti-immigrant group to a local board has picked the city for its 2015 convention.
The National Council of La Raza said Thursday that Mayor Sly James will attend a formal announcement on Monday.
NCLR opted to hold its 2009 convention in Chicago after former Kansas City Mayor Mark Funkhouser appointed a member of the Minuteman Civil Defense Corps to the city parks board. The organization advocates patrolling the Mexican border and reports illegal immigrants to authorities. The appointee resigned in 2008.
Convention officials estimated the 2009 event would have brought $5 million into the Kansas City economy and filled 5,000 hotel rooms.
(Copyright 2013 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.)