[9] This being a primary focus of social justice activists within the community at the time as a result of the stagnant growth of Latino student enrollment during the 1980s and early 1990s.

In the fall semester of 1981, after four meetings between Londoño and his fellow Latino students, it was decided to name their club "La Unidad Latina".

[12] The thirteen founders are: William Barba, Dennis De Jesus, Hernando Londoño, Jesse Luis, Samuel Ramos, Tomas Rincon, Edwin Rivera, Mario Rivera, Victor Rodriguez, Victor Silva, Jose Torres, Henry Villareal, and James Otto "Jim" Ziebell.

[14][15] The organization's establishment at Cornell University made it the first Latino-based fraternity to be chartered at an Ivy League institution and the third oldest to be active at the time at the collegiate level.

Throughout the rest of the 1980s, the fraternity expanded into eight different campuses located across the North-Eastern states of New York, Pennsylvania, and Rhode Island.

[16] In 1986, the fraternity briefly considered becoming co-ed as the founding line of the Beta chapter at Binghamton University included two women, Carol Lasso and Vanina Gonzalez.

As a result, the Beta chapter and its female members came up with the concept of a Latina sorority that would be able to unite the community's women on campus.

Throughout the 2000s, 2010s, and 2020s, in the current adelante (moving forward) phase of Latino Greek organizations, the fraternity expanded to more than thirty campuses in eleven states.

[25] In 2006, the James Madison University chapter hosted speaker Jaime Escalante, the subject of the 1988 film Stand and Deliver which was based on his work in the Los Angeles educational system.

The gold top-right quadrant includes a red phrygian cap on top of caduceus with two hands shaking out of clouds in the center.

In the white bottom-right quadrant, a sun with thirteen rays is shown above a mountain range in the backdrop of a Mesoamerican pyramid.

The red bottom-left quadrant features two crossed swords behind a ribbon banner with the year 1982 on it and a hanging key pendant.

[4] In July 2022, the fraternity introduced a new ceremonial ritual called La Despedida to induct deceased members into the honorary Pi Sigma chapter at funerals.

[44] Members of the fraternity have access to a variety of different social and professional programs within the organization such LUL Out, which provides a supportive network to Hermanos who identify as members of the LGBTQ+ community, Lambdas Who Roll, which helps promote development opportunities for members to live a more active lifestyle through the martial art of Brazilian jiu-jitsu, and the Lambda Guilds, which are eight professional guilds within the organization that provide resources to Hermanos within different fields.

[45][46][47] The mission of La Unidad Latina, Lambda Upsilon Lambda Fraternity, Inc. is to seek a leadership role in meeting the needs of the Latino community through academic achievement, cultural awareness, community service, and promotion of the Latino culture and people.

The program supports local schools and organizations by mentoring future scholars, facilitating college and university tours, providing P.A.T.H.E.

[49] Nationwide, a portion of the organization's chapters allocate and provide for local scholarships to either current or prospective college students, with much of the fundraising being through fraternity-specific banquets like "Noche de Oro" or collaborative social events like "The Official Four Way: World Tour" with other fraternal Greek-lettered organizations like Alpha Phi Alpha, Iota Nu Delta, and Pi Delta Psi.

[54] The La Unidad Latina Foundation (LULF) was established in 1999 as a platform for a non-profit, charitable organization dedicated to academic excellence and leadership in the Latino community.