Except if you're an apologist for illegal aliens, er make that Ted Kennedy's housekeepers. No, let's try "those enlightened souls who built everything in America"—In which case, "La Raza" seems to mean "anything not damaging to our cause, maaan."
DOWNTOWN SAN DIEGO – The National Council of La Raza spends most of its time protecting and advancing the rights of Latinos through advocacy and community work. But as it wraps up its convention downtown, it has found itself defending its name.
That's because activists [Ed.:—Uhh.. Isn't NCLR an activist group? All signs point to "yes".] who oppose illegal immigration are saying in e-mails, during street protests and through the media that “La Raza” means “The Race,” and have been calling the organization a hate group. The accusations have prompted soul-searching among NCLR supporters as to what the name actually means and stands for. Most say the situation is the result of a word lost in translation.
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“The concept of race that people use in the United States is not the same as the one used in Latin America. People talk about the human race, the human races, and the race meaning the people, or el pueblo, so it has several meanings.”