22 thoughts on “The Young Lords: Do they have a place in Puerto Rican history?”
hi
i like everything in this world
A place in Puerto Rican history
A place in Puerto Rican history — perhaps. But how significant is really debatable. My thoughts on the matter are that, just like the Black Panthers, the Young Lords are but one example of a more youthful and radical line of community activists that attempted to have a global perspective but were only ultimately relevant in their own barrios–which is fine and as it should be. The problem is that they did not have a long-term impact.
Long Term Impact, Of course Loco!
Of course the Younglords had a long term impact on Puerto Rican history. De Que tu Hablas? What history books have you been reading?
Why else would we even be having this discussion or seeing that they are ingrained into most Puerto Rican literature. You can’t stray too far from talking about Puerto Rican activism in the U.S. without reading about the Younglords. Granted, they didn’t start any Cultural Institutions like Museo Del Barrio and Centro but they did influence many of the current leaders and programs in the Puerto Rican community you have now. Where would Juan Gonzalez and Felipe, and Iris, and many, many more folks be if it wasn’t like organizations such as the Younglords that inspired them to become more active. They could have gone the route of many academics and just kept themselves lock up in study but instead they took it to the streets where the message could be heard by the folks that were the most miserable and downtrodden. See Puerto Rican Movements – The Libro for reference.
You would never have a conference like Muevete or the massive numbers of youth that joined organizations such as ASPIRA without the Younglords and the Black Panthers inspiring them. YOu wouldn’t have programs like Lead testing, Free Breakfast, and grass roots initiatives that you currently see in the Inner City without these folks pushing these issues to the mainstream in the late 60’s and early 70’s. You would never know about the Puerto Rican and Asian connection if it wasn’t like legendary figures such as Yuri Kochiyama and the lords taking over the statue of liberty to demand the release of the Puerto Rican Political Prisoners.
They were pioneers in the sense that they were doing organizing before it was even popular in our community and before Federal Agencies discovered that you could make money from running these social programs.Most of what the Younglords were doing back then is very similar to what larger Latino organizations do now.
As a result, many of these Younglords are still making history as either Union Leaders or Grass root movers and shakers like Richie Perez.
Find me an active Puerto Rican in the U.S, and more then likely he would have been a Younglord, inspired by them, or participated with them back in the day. There might even be a good chance he saw the documentary on them or read the book Pa’lante! Or heard of those Nuyorican Poets that were involved with the Younglords themselves. Shoot! Almost everyone and their Mama has heard of Pedro Pietri or heard his work and he was inspired by the Lords.
As for the youth, most of the brothers and sisters who you see today that are active and know their history can credit reading about the Younglords as some of their inspiration.
So yes, the Younglords Do have a big piece of Puerto Rican history. They were a group of Folks who got tired of others deciding their future and took a stand. Yes, they made mistakes but who on this list serve is devoid of any? We learn from our mistakes and move on. Many of the Younglords went on to do great things and raise socially conscience children that are now activist in their own right working to preserve our history and culture. They did have an Impact on Nuyorican literature and on others who study social organizations and their impacts on a Global Scale. By being relevant in their own Barrios, they influenced others who to this day study about them. Go to many colleges in the U.S. and abroad that talk about Liberation Theology or Revolutionary movements and the Younglords are probably there.
But what do I know? I’m just another Puerto Rican with a Bag full of Poems making rounds in Transglobal Barrios! Pa’lante! Siempre!
Not crazy, just thoughtful and questioning…
It may seem crazy to you, brother, but I do indeed question their long-term impact and think (wow), as with many Puerto Rican objects of history, the Lords are more relevant in terms of their mythology than any reality. They only existed for two or three years! That’s important to remember. And so, with respect to designing and implementing longterm, real change, they are merely a blip on the radar of Puerto Rican history–just like the Panthers are to African American History. The passion you express, which is noteworthy and which I respect in my elders, still does not preclude a more dispassionate look at the work of the Young Lords which while admirable in their early years degenerated into ideological, leftist, and what I call “abusive” politics.
I’m merely exploring and don’t mean to offend. I just think their place is more in our imagination– and as you say they serve as a source of inspiration. And I’m not making little of inspiration. I just wanted to look objectively at their accomplishments, not the byproduct. Although, I would be the first to admit, that many times we don’t know the weight of our most insignificant actions within the public or political arenas.
RE: Not crazy, just thoughtful and questioning…
I have wondered how so many of the notable Lords wound up as employees of major media, and good newsmen and women too. Other than that, I fail to see who gained anything at all.
The significant accomplishments we can count today are the product of individual community leaders and some very fine community organizations whose roots date back to the earliest Puerto Rican migration to the United States.
The Young Lords added color to the the latter end of the 60s liberation movement; they punctuated the movement. As you say, their value is essentially mythic, not actual.
RE: Long Term Impact, Of course Loco!
I’d be very curious to see what infiltration by the FBI they were subjected to. Perhaps the files Jose Serrano is passing on to the Centro will illuminate this–many groups during the ’60s were a “failure” and it is only starting in the 1980s that we see how much of this dissension was sown by the FBI and its agents provoceteurs.
RE: Long Term Impact, Of course Loco!
That’s right Rev. Pope… PREACH THAT… PA’LO QUE NO SABEN !!!
BIG UP TO THE YLP !!!
BIG UP TO MADRINA, DENISE OLIVER-VELEZ !!
WEEEEEEPA !!!!!!
Yes, I agree with you Flaco
I’ve been away. Just saw your comment and wanted to lend support to your words which are quite insightful. I myself have often wondered about this. It sort of points to some sort of connection or similarity between politics and being a kind of media persona. It’s a strange continuum: actors/entertainers>politicians. OR revolutionaries>reporters/journalists. It’s an interesting or very sophisticated way of silencing radicalism, give it a respectable voice and place an editor or news director over it — and of course pay handsomely!
The FBI and YLP
Yes, but if you read the Melendez book or even try to casually talk to these folks because they are around, I think you would discover that they basically sowed the seeds of their own destruction.
Can you imagine a world or a country or even a community in which someone like Felipe Luciano is the leader?
Less in Puerto Rican and More in American history
The YLO is more important as a reflection of political trends in the United States–that’s apparent from the type of activities the organization engaged in and what its issues ultimately reflected, conditions in the inner city.
Part of the problem it had in going to Puerto Rico (among the many that were obvious such as language) was that the independent movement on the island tends to be middle-class and intellectual.
I would place YLO in Puerto Rico’s with respect to the impact American society had on a specific generation of Puerto Rican diasporic culture. And I would also add that this was the first and probably the last massive wave from the island and, therefore, significant.
RE: Less in Puerto Rican and More in American hist
Your comments offer a significant insight into the language and class-biased contrasts between Puerto Rico-based vs USA-based communities.
Nonetheless, I have not had the sense that the YLO were ever representative of the overall Puerto Rican community in the USA, or even in NYC. Of course, the leadership of the YLO was well on its way toward secure futures as members of the middle class (not a bad thing).
I think the difference is that where in European socialist models, one ascends into a large group of intellectuals who engage the ‘system’ from academia, the arts, etc, I do not believe that the YLO that matured into the middle class has ever integrated itself into the Puerto Rico-based intellectual commununity, cum European-styled socialists and independentists. I would propose that language is a principal barrier; but also I wonder if race plays an equally important role.
RE: Less in Puerto Rican and More in American history
You are correct, but you must understand that the ones who stand to lose the most with the current status and with statehood are the middle class.
In statehood, the concept of a welfare state would burden de middle class, as with the current ELA sistem. Also, the reality that 2 senators and 7 representative, although it’s the most of any one state, the reality is that most of the states can’t simpathize with our situation.
Most of them are not in our UNIQUE geografical position, nor does the mayority share our cultural point of view. An this supposed political power in reality means we’ll have a 2% representation in both houses (2 senators vs. 100 senatos and 7 representative vs. 450 representatives).
In truth, we stand to lose more under the other two statuses than with independence, not to mention the economic advantages of negociating economic and cultural treaties with not only other latin american nations but european nations as well the US on the same level, gives us a greater flexibility and more opportunities to increse employment and salaries than does ELA or stathood.
RE: Less in Puerto Rican and More in American history
As far as your view on their place in history, I would say that it is part of a shared past, as was the Nissai situation during WWII.
RE: RE: Less in Puerto Rican and More in American
You raise some interesting questions. To which I would add basically the fact that the YLO is basically a Nuyorican phenomenon — dealing best with the issues effecting our community or communities here — not in Puerto Rico. Thus, the YLO as they matured ( if they ever really did, they actually metamorphosed into a Maoist group and basically self-destructed), disbanded and former members as individuals became middle-class but not particularly part of an intelligentsia because the U.S. doesn’t have such an intellectual class. It has think tanks, the most effective being right wing, which influences politics directly and indirectly.
So, I still see the YLO even in its heyday as a U.S. phenomenon which was totally divorced from the emerging issues on the island and the political organizations and intellectuals or academics which had been struggling there either for or against the U.S. The YLO, unfortunately, set up the liberation of Puerto Rico without knowing or even consulting any of the politicoes on the island. This has to be stated and acknowledged because it reflects a certain attitude and posture towards the island and its people–as well as a M.O which is questionable.
Wish this were so!
I do not know where you are getting your information, but the only reason there is a middle-class in Puerto Rico is because of ELA.
Puerto Rico went through a certain phase in the midd-20th Century that transformed the island from a rural (subsistance based farming) to an urban (light industry and consumer based ) society. As such, as with most consumer-based, service-oriented societies, there are certain forms of dependence that can not be altered without a great deal of dislocation and suffering.
What prospect is there truly in trading with other Latin American countries which are themselves in similar predicaments although they run under the banner of independence?
Be honest. What models should Puerto Rico emulate? Look at Cuba–what is it today, if not trying to end the embargo with the U.S. Look at the poverty. Look at the Dominican Republic and its similar problems to Cuba and other Caribbean nations–crime, drugs, dependency on tourism, etc. Brazil? Argentina, Mexico? In many ways, Mexico is beginning to resemble Puerto Rico with its closer ties to the U.S. ,its attempt to establish freer movement for its workforce into the U.S., its soliciting of American investment, the joint U.S.-Mexican program to raise the standard of living for all Mexicans.. Really, where are you looking that you believe that Puerto Rico would fare well under independence unless the agreement and terms for such were spelled out and agreed to by the U.S.
And how forward thinking is the U.S. that it would consider a new way of relating that is based on mutual understanding, stable, environmentally sound growth and development, etc. Really? We’re between a rock and a hard place–and there is little vision either in Puerto Rico or the U.S. that can lead us to a new arrangement since we will always have to deal the power of the U.S. however way you cut it.
It is insignificant how much history was made by the Young Lords. More important is
what we are doing today to build unity so that we can slow down the dividing of our NATION and continue to uplift the struggle for self determination of Puerto Rico and the empowerment of our Barrios.
When the Young Lords began in Chicago as a human rights movement on September 23rd 1968, wearing their purple berets with the button “Tengo Puerto Rico en mi corazon” immediately, several groups were formed to discredit them.
The first group was led by Mingo Ayala and was given hand outs by Mayor Richard Daley.They were the “Concerned Puerto Rican Youth” and they talked against us at meetings and spread fliers calling the Lords communists.
The local Alderman Barr McCutheon organized “UPTIGD” or United People To Inform Good Doers, and they met with institutions,police, the Methodist Bishop and well as other churches to discredit us and to try to kick us out of our People’s Church.
The Commancheros moved into a building right next to the People’s Church and began recruiting youth and panhandling money in Lincoln Park(pan handling was against Lord policy).They wore blue berets and their leader was an anglo with a red goatee and had a strong resemblance to the chairman of the Young Lords, Jose(Cha Cha)Jimenez.
I know that you are probably aware how Cointelpro sent letters to the Black Stone Rangers and this lead to several gun battles between they and the Black Panther Party.
Nationally,the FBI infiltrated and created many divisions within the Panther chapters and members between the Young Lords and other progressive groups.We should understand that it is not us who they fear.Individuals don’t make change.The People make change.Therefore, it is UNITY and grassroots empowerment, A People’s Movement that they can’t handle.
Since time,conditions,and place dictate everything.The history that the Young Lords made is good.Thank You. We should be very proud of our service to our People but our movement is just starting.
VIVA EL PUEBLO!
Hey really what I think, as part of the Latin king nation I think the young Lords made a significantly big contribution to the outside world’s view of Puerto Ricans and Puerto Rican culture.they brought the Puerto rican and vastly the hispanic community together as a prideful whole.without the organizations like this us other orgs wouldnt be able to function as powerful communities….
AMOR DE REY
QUE VIVA LA CORONA LATINA!!!!!!!
If you don’t know your history you won’t understand your present and will go blindly into the future…
What impact did we have?
Many of you now know something about Lolita, Don Pedro, Blanca. cause you have attended Puerto Rican Studies programs…
they didn’t exsist before the Young Lords and PRSU’s
Many of you are now proud of your Afro-Boriqua heritage – which wasn’t discussed – or claimed …before the YLP
Many women didn’t die in the old Lincoln Hospital – because we had it shut down
Many children in the Barrio lived to adulthood not felled by lead poisoning…because of the YLP
Kids in schools get breakfast – because of the YLP & BPP
Many of you wave PR flags proudly – and have pride in being Boriqua – cause your parents were inspired by the Young Lords to stop trying to whitewash themselves
What did we do? We took action. How did we do it – with youth and courage.
Where have we gone? We are still here fighting injustice at ages 55- 60.
Did we make a revolution – No
De we revolutionize many minds – Yes
But now we ask you – the grandchildren of our struggle – what are you doing today?
Pa’lante
Denise
Former Central Committee Member YLP
k smit declared the YLP should have a place in history, but “how significant is really debatable”
My fellow Boricuas YOU must ask your Elders, Read Everything you can get your hands on and never, ever stop being a Political Activist for Human Rights both within this country and aboard.
For ALL of YOU owe a great deal to the Young Lords Party ESPECIALLY if you are Puerto Rican, African or Latino or lived in New York City from 1969 onward.
Not only is their place in history huge despite their numbers in ‘might’ coming from such a tiny island, but their accomplishments & ruckus made them world-reknown. Mumia Abu-Jamal is noted in a June, 2006 interview by Rafael Rodriguez-Cruz (www.CounterPunch.com) that Puerto Ricans & the Young Lords Party freed most of their political prisoners (not all) and were MORE successful than even ‘white’ leftists were in doing so. Everyone could learn a lot from their methods of political focus & dedication.
Not only for the points ‘Denise’ a former YLP member outlined so eloquently, but also because these men and women today are STILL out there fighting for our right to be self-defined, to have self-knowledge and to be self-motivated. Self-described ‘polite revolutionaries’.
I am at the tail end of the Boomer Generation, but I see many of you are under 35 y.o. you all feel a particular dis-connect from Puerto Rican-ness, but don’t let commercialism and the mainstream ‘celebrity’ Media fill up your voids — we have enormous shoes to fill so make our Community Leaders proud: Richie Perez, Felipe Luciano, Panama, Denise, Geraldo Rivera, Pedro Pietri, etal.
Don’t be satisfied with your electronics or by what is being spoon-fed to you. Go out and taste the world for yourselves. Go out & re-discover what it means to be descended from Boriken (Taino, Arawak) People. To call Africa Motherland, to be tribal, to be multi-cultural, multi-racial…Go quickly before the courage you feel is replaced by complacency and the comfort of your Parents’ sofa, go. We are all counting on your to follow in the footsteps of our Elders and build better tomorrows. Peace.
THANK YOU.
GRACIAS.
For everything you did and more. I had hoped to thank so many YLPs in person, but they are leaving us as I speak. I didn’t get to speak to Richie Perez in person, nor Pedro Pietri whose poetry is by my side as I listened to the poetry of La Bruja.
There is so much we still need to learn from our Elders. When Rosie Perez said she reluctantly raised her hand to voluntarily protest on the steps of the United Nations (she was told she could be arrested) to protest the U.S. Navy’s (ehem) presence (occupation?) on Vieques, the ecological disaster of ‘spent’ shells containing uranium, etc. Ms. Perez stated in her documentary most of her peer were OVER 60 years old. One had been arrested 22 or 23 times.
So many who said “I’ll be there” never showed up…Imagine…the courage it must take women over 60 y.o. to stand up & be counted simply because it was the right thing to do time and time again. Do our young people really understand the price this woman and others have paid for them? Do they really understand? More importantly, will they pick up where they left off and stand up themselves to lay their own layers upon what they have build for us? We still…are students to our Elders. Now I’ve said enough. Peace.
Ms. Oliver-Velez…the previous THANK YOU/GRACIAS for you. Please add on…I just wanted to ‘Clara’ to know the YLO wasn’t just a New York thing:
YLO is the Chicago (IL) Original Chapter founded by Jose (Cha Cha) Jimenez in 1968 after meeting with The Young Patriots & Hampton of the Black Panthers Party.
YLP is the New York City (Spanish Harlem) Chapter founded in 1969 with Jimenez’s permission…separating sometime afterwards, starting another New York Chapter (South Bronx?) and opening Chapters up and down the East Coast and across wherever Boricuas resided.
Perhaps Ms. Oliver-Velez could elaborate more how many Chapters there were, but it was big. It was a major political force that reached way OUTSIDE New York’s Tri-State area, OUTSIDE of America and even internationally. It was a very, very big deal and the Founders & many Members are still politically active & I think that’s just FABULOUS. Peace.
armindo “mingo” ayala is a sex offender, child rapist, molester, predator
hi
i like everything in this world
A place in Puerto Rican history
A place in Puerto Rican history — perhaps. But how significant is really debatable. My thoughts on the matter are that, just like the Black Panthers, the Young Lords are but one example of a more youthful and radical line of community activists that attempted to have a global perspective but were only ultimately relevant in their own barrios–which is fine and as it should be. The problem is that they did not have a long-term impact.
Long Term Impact, Of course Loco!
Of course the Younglords had a long term impact on Puerto Rican history. De Que tu Hablas? What history books have you been reading?
Why else would we even be having this discussion or seeing that they are ingrained into most Puerto Rican literature. You can’t stray too far from talking about Puerto Rican activism in the U.S. without reading about the Younglords. Granted, they didn’t start any Cultural Institutions like Museo Del Barrio and Centro but they did influence many of the current leaders and programs in the Puerto Rican community you have now. Where would Juan Gonzalez and Felipe, and Iris, and many, many more folks be if it wasn’t like organizations such as the Younglords that inspired them to become more active. They could have gone the route of many academics and just kept themselves lock up in study but instead they took it to the streets where the message could be heard by the folks that were the most miserable and downtrodden. See Puerto Rican Movements – The Libro for reference.
You would never have a conference like Muevete or the massive numbers of youth that joined organizations such as ASPIRA without the Younglords and the Black Panthers inspiring them. YOu wouldn’t have programs like Lead testing, Free Breakfast, and grass roots initiatives that you currently see in the Inner City without these folks pushing these issues to the mainstream in the late 60’s and early 70’s. You would never know about the Puerto Rican and Asian connection if it wasn’t like legendary figures such as Yuri Kochiyama and the lords taking over the statue of liberty to demand the release of the Puerto Rican Political Prisoners.
They were pioneers in the sense that they were doing organizing before it was even popular in our community and before Federal Agencies discovered that you could make money from running these social programs.Most of what the Younglords were doing back then is very similar to what larger Latino organizations do now.
As a result, many of these Younglords are still making history as either Union Leaders or Grass root movers and shakers like Richie Perez.
Find me an active Puerto Rican in the U.S, and more then likely he would have been a Younglord, inspired by them, or participated with them back in the day. There might even be a good chance he saw the documentary on them or read the book Pa’lante! Or heard of those Nuyorican Poets that were involved with the Younglords themselves. Shoot! Almost everyone and their Mama has heard of Pedro Pietri or heard his work and he was inspired by the Lords.
As for the youth, most of the brothers and sisters who you see today that are active and know their history can credit reading about the Younglords as some of their inspiration.
So yes, the Younglords Do have a big piece of Puerto Rican history. They were a group of Folks who got tired of others deciding their future and took a stand. Yes, they made mistakes but who on this list serve is devoid of any? We learn from our mistakes and move on. Many of the Younglords went on to do great things and raise socially conscience children that are now activist in their own right working to preserve our history and culture. They did have an Impact on Nuyorican literature and on others who study social organizations and their impacts on a Global Scale. By being relevant in their own Barrios, they influenced others who to this day study about them. Go to many colleges in the U.S. and abroad that talk about Liberation Theology or Revolutionary movements and the Younglords are probably there.
But what do I know? I’m just another Puerto Rican with a Bag full of Poems making rounds in Transglobal Barrios! Pa’lante! Siempre!
Not crazy, just thoughtful and questioning…
It may seem crazy to you, brother, but I do indeed question their long-term impact and think (wow), as with many Puerto Rican objects of history, the Lords are more relevant in terms of their mythology than any reality. They only existed for two or three years! That’s important to remember. And so, with respect to designing and implementing longterm, real change, they are merely a blip on the radar of Puerto Rican history–just like the Panthers are to African American History. The passion you express, which is noteworthy and which I respect in my elders, still does not preclude a more dispassionate look at the work of the Young Lords which while admirable in their early years degenerated into ideological, leftist, and what I call “abusive” politics.
I’m merely exploring and don’t mean to offend. I just think their place is more in our imagination– and as you say they serve as a source of inspiration. And I’m not making little of inspiration. I just wanted to look objectively at their accomplishments, not the byproduct. Although, I would be the first to admit, that many times we don’t know the weight of our most insignificant actions within the public or political arenas.
RE: Not crazy, just thoughtful and questioning…
I have wondered how so many of the notable Lords wound up as employees of major media, and good newsmen and women too. Other than that, I fail to see who gained anything at all.
The significant accomplishments we can count today are the product of individual community leaders and some very fine community organizations whose roots date back to the earliest Puerto Rican migration to the United States.
The Young Lords added color to the the latter end of the 60s liberation movement; they punctuated the movement. As you say, their value is essentially mythic, not actual.
RE: Long Term Impact, Of course Loco!
I’d be very curious to see what infiltration by the FBI they were subjected to. Perhaps the files Jose Serrano is passing on to the Centro will illuminate this–many groups during the ’60s were a “failure” and it is only starting in the 1980s that we see how much of this dissension was sown by the FBI and its agents provoceteurs.
RE: Long Term Impact, Of course Loco!
That’s right Rev. Pope… PREACH THAT… PA’LO QUE NO SABEN !!!
BIG UP TO THE YLP !!!
BIG UP TO MADRINA, DENISE OLIVER-VELEZ !!
WEEEEEEPA !!!!!!
Yes, I agree with you Flaco
I’ve been away. Just saw your comment and wanted to lend support to your words which are quite insightful. I myself have often wondered about this. It sort of points to some sort of connection or similarity between politics and being a kind of media persona. It’s a strange continuum: actors/entertainers>politicians. OR revolutionaries>reporters/journalists. It’s an interesting or very sophisticated way of silencing radicalism, give it a respectable voice and place an editor or news director over it — and of course pay handsomely!
The FBI and YLP
Yes, but if you read the Melendez book or even try to casually talk to these folks because they are around, I think you would discover that they basically sowed the seeds of their own destruction.
Can you imagine a world or a country or even a community in which someone like Felipe Luciano is the leader?
Less in Puerto Rican and More in American history
The YLO is more important as a reflection of political trends in the United States–that’s apparent from the type of activities the organization engaged in and what its issues ultimately reflected, conditions in the inner city.
Part of the problem it had in going to Puerto Rico (among the many that were obvious such as language) was that the independent movement on the island tends to be middle-class and intellectual.
I would place YLO in Puerto Rico’s with respect to the impact American society had on a specific generation of Puerto Rican diasporic culture. And I would also add that this was the first and probably the last massive wave from the island and, therefore, significant.
RE: Less in Puerto Rican and More in American hist
Your comments offer a significant insight into the language and class-biased contrasts between Puerto Rico-based vs USA-based communities.
Nonetheless, I have not had the sense that the YLO were ever representative of the overall Puerto Rican community in the USA, or even in NYC. Of course, the leadership of the YLO was well on its way toward secure futures as members of the middle class (not a bad thing).
I think the difference is that where in European socialist models, one ascends into a large group of intellectuals who engage the ‘system’ from academia, the arts, etc, I do not believe that the YLO that matured into the middle class has ever integrated itself into the Puerto Rico-based intellectual commununity, cum European-styled socialists and independentists. I would propose that language is a principal barrier; but also I wonder if race plays an equally important role.
RE: Less in Puerto Rican and More in American history
You are correct, but you must understand that the ones who stand to lose the most with the current status and with statehood are the middle class.
In statehood, the concept of a welfare state would burden de middle class, as with the current ELA sistem. Also, the reality that 2 senators and 7 representative, although it’s the most of any one state, the reality is that most of the states can’t simpathize with our situation.
Most of them are not in our UNIQUE geografical position, nor does the mayority share our cultural point of view. An this supposed political power in reality means we’ll have a 2% representation in both houses (2 senators vs. 100 senatos and 7 representative vs. 450 representatives).
In truth, we stand to lose more under the other two statuses than with independence, not to mention the economic advantages of negociating economic and cultural treaties with not only other latin american nations but european nations as well the US on the same level, gives us a greater flexibility and more opportunities to increse employment and salaries than does ELA or stathood.
RE: Less in Puerto Rican and More in American history
As far as your view on their place in history, I would say that it is part of a shared past, as was the Nissai situation during WWII.
RE: RE: Less in Puerto Rican and More in American
You raise some interesting questions. To which I would add basically the fact that the YLO is basically a Nuyorican phenomenon — dealing best with the issues effecting our community or communities here — not in Puerto Rico. Thus, the YLO as they matured ( if they ever really did, they actually metamorphosed into a Maoist group and basically self-destructed), disbanded and former members as individuals became middle-class but not particularly part of an intelligentsia because the U.S. doesn’t have such an intellectual class. It has think tanks, the most effective being right wing, which influences politics directly and indirectly.
So, I still see the YLO even in its heyday as a U.S. phenomenon which was totally divorced from the emerging issues on the island and the political organizations and intellectuals or academics which had been struggling there either for or against the U.S. The YLO, unfortunately, set up the liberation of Puerto Rico without knowing or even consulting any of the politicoes on the island. This has to be stated and acknowledged because it reflects a certain attitude and posture towards the island and its people–as well as a M.O which is questionable.
Wish this were so!
I do not know where you are getting your information, but the only reason there is a middle-class in Puerto Rico is because of ELA.
Puerto Rico went through a certain phase in the midd-20th Century that transformed the island from a rural (subsistance based farming) to an urban (light industry and consumer based ) society. As such, as with most consumer-based, service-oriented societies, there are certain forms of dependence that can not be altered without a great deal of dislocation and suffering.
What prospect is there truly in trading with other Latin American countries which are themselves in similar predicaments although they run under the banner of independence?
Be honest. What models should Puerto Rico emulate? Look at Cuba–what is it today, if not trying to end the embargo with the U.S. Look at the poverty. Look at the Dominican Republic and its similar problems to Cuba and other Caribbean nations–crime, drugs, dependency on tourism, etc. Brazil? Argentina, Mexico? In many ways, Mexico is beginning to resemble Puerto Rico with its closer ties to the U.S. ,its attempt to establish freer movement for its workforce into the U.S., its soliciting of American investment, the joint U.S.-Mexican program to raise the standard of living for all Mexicans.. Really, where are you looking that you believe that Puerto Rico would fare well under independence unless the agreement and terms for such were spelled out and agreed to by the U.S.
And how forward thinking is the U.S. that it would consider a new way of relating that is based on mutual understanding, stable, environmentally sound growth and development, etc. Really? We’re between a rock and a hard place–and there is little vision either in Puerto Rico or the U.S. that can lead us to a new arrangement since we will always have to deal the power of the U.S. however way you cut it.
It is insignificant how much history was made by the Young Lords. More important is
what we are doing today to build unity so that we can slow down the dividing of our NATION and continue to uplift the struggle for self determination of Puerto Rico and the empowerment of our Barrios.
When the Young Lords began in Chicago as a human rights movement on September 23rd 1968, wearing their purple berets with the button “Tengo Puerto Rico en mi corazon” immediately, several groups were formed to discredit them.
The first group was led by Mingo Ayala and was given hand outs by Mayor Richard Daley.They were the “Concerned Puerto Rican Youth” and they talked against us at meetings and spread fliers calling the Lords communists.
The local Alderman Barr McCutheon organized “UPTIGD” or United People To Inform Good Doers, and they met with institutions,police, the Methodist Bishop and well as other churches to discredit us and to try to kick us out of our People’s Church.
The Commancheros moved into a building right next to the People’s Church and began recruiting youth and panhandling money in Lincoln Park(pan handling was against Lord policy).They wore blue berets and their leader was an anglo with a red goatee and had a strong resemblance to the chairman of the Young Lords, Jose(Cha Cha)Jimenez.
I know that you are probably aware how Cointelpro sent letters to the Black Stone Rangers and this lead to several gun battles between they and the Black Panther Party.
Nationally,the FBI infiltrated and created many divisions within the Panther chapters and members between the Young Lords and other progressive groups.We should understand that it is not us who they fear.Individuals don’t make change.The People make change.Therefore, it is UNITY and grassroots empowerment, A People’s Movement that they can’t handle.
Since time,conditions,and place dictate everything.The history that the Young Lords made is good.Thank You. We should be very proud of our service to our People but our movement is just starting.
VIVA EL PUEBLO!
Hey really what I think, as part of the Latin king nation I think the young Lords made a significantly big contribution to the outside world’s view of Puerto Ricans and Puerto Rican culture.they brought the Puerto rican and vastly the hispanic community together as a prideful whole.without the organizations like this us other orgs wouldnt be able to function as powerful communities….
AMOR DE REY
QUE VIVA LA CORONA LATINA!!!!!!!
If you don’t know your history you won’t understand your present and will go blindly into the future…
What impact did we have?
Many of you now know something about Lolita, Don Pedro, Blanca. cause you have attended Puerto Rican Studies programs…
they didn’t exsist before the Young Lords and PRSU’s
Many of you are now proud of your Afro-Boriqua heritage – which wasn’t discussed – or claimed …before the YLP
Many women didn’t die in the old Lincoln Hospital – because we had it shut down
Many children in the Barrio lived to adulthood not felled by lead poisoning…because of the YLP
Kids in schools get breakfast – because of the YLP & BPP
Many of you wave PR flags proudly – and have pride in being Boriqua – cause your parents were inspired by the Young Lords to stop trying to whitewash themselves
What did we do? We took action. How did we do it – with youth and courage.
Where have we gone? We are still here fighting injustice at ages 55- 60.
Did we make a revolution – No
De we revolutionize many minds – Yes
But now we ask you – the grandchildren of our struggle – what are you doing today?
Pa’lante
Denise
Former Central Committee Member YLP
k smit declared the YLP should have a place in history, but “how significant is really debatable”
My fellow Boricuas YOU must ask your Elders, Read Everything you can get your hands on and never, ever stop being a Political Activist for Human Rights both within this country and aboard.
For ALL of YOU owe a great deal to the Young Lords Party ESPECIALLY if you are Puerto Rican, African or Latino or lived in New York City from 1969 onward.
Not only is their place in history huge despite their numbers in ‘might’ coming from such a tiny island, but their accomplishments & ruckus made them world-reknown. Mumia Abu-Jamal is noted in a June, 2006 interview by Rafael Rodriguez-Cruz (www.CounterPunch.com) that Puerto Ricans & the Young Lords Party freed most of their political prisoners (not all) and were MORE successful than even ‘white’ leftists were in doing so. Everyone could learn a lot from their methods of political focus & dedication.
Not only for the points ‘Denise’ a former YLP member outlined so eloquently, but also because these men and women today are STILL out there fighting for our right to be self-defined, to have self-knowledge and to be self-motivated. Self-described ‘polite revolutionaries’.
I am at the tail end of the Boomer Generation, but I see many of you are under 35 y.o. you all feel a particular dis-connect from Puerto Rican-ness, but don’t let commercialism and the mainstream ‘celebrity’ Media fill up your voids — we have enormous shoes to fill so make our Community Leaders proud: Richie Perez, Felipe Luciano, Panama, Denise, Geraldo Rivera, Pedro Pietri, etal.
Don’t be satisfied with your electronics or by what is being spoon-fed to you. Go out and taste the world for yourselves. Go out & re-discover what it means to be descended from Boriken (Taino, Arawak) People. To call Africa Motherland, to be tribal, to be multi-cultural, multi-racial…Go quickly before the courage you feel is replaced by complacency and the comfort of your Parents’ sofa, go. We are all counting on your to follow in the footsteps of our Elders and build better tomorrows. Peace.
THANK YOU.
GRACIAS.
For everything you did and more. I had hoped to thank so many YLPs in person, but they are leaving us as I speak. I didn’t get to speak to Richie Perez in person, nor Pedro Pietri whose poetry is by my side as I listened to the poetry of La Bruja.
There is so much we still need to learn from our Elders. When Rosie Perez said she reluctantly raised her hand to voluntarily protest on the steps of the United Nations (she was told she could be arrested) to protest the U.S. Navy’s (ehem) presence (occupation?) on Vieques, the ecological disaster of ‘spent’ shells containing uranium, etc. Ms. Perez stated in her documentary most of her peer were OVER 60 years old. One had been arrested 22 or 23 times.
So many who said “I’ll be there” never showed up…Imagine…the courage it must take women over 60 y.o. to stand up & be counted simply because it was the right thing to do time and time again. Do our young people really understand the price this woman and others have paid for them? Do they really understand? More importantly, will they pick up where they left off and stand up themselves to lay their own layers upon what they have build for us? We still…are students to our Elders. Now I’ve said enough. Peace.
Ms. Oliver-Velez…the previous THANK YOU/GRACIAS for you. Please add on…I just wanted to ‘Clara’ to know the YLO wasn’t just a New York thing:
YLO is the Chicago (IL) Original Chapter founded by Jose (Cha Cha) Jimenez in 1968 after meeting with The Young Patriots & Hampton of the Black Panthers Party.
YLP is the New York City (Spanish Harlem) Chapter founded in 1969 with Jimenez’s permission…separating sometime afterwards, starting another New York Chapter (South Bronx?) and opening Chapters up and down the East Coast and across wherever Boricuas resided.
Perhaps Ms. Oliver-Velez could elaborate more how many Chapters there were, but it was big. It was a major political force that reached way OUTSIDE New York’s Tri-State area, OUTSIDE of America and even internationally. It was a very, very big deal and the Founders & many Members are still politically active & I think that’s just FABULOUS. Peace.
armindo “mingo” ayala is a sex offender, child rapist, molester, predator