Op/Ed: Revolution and the Young Lords

For the past four hundred years, minorities in this country have carried an onward struggle to improve their lives through political action. Every decade since the birth of the civil rights movement in the 60’s, our standards and involvement in political action have increased tremendously. This would drive one to believe that these actions should be reflective in our communities. Our schools should be teaching our children about our real history, diversity, tolerance, and the steps necessary for a human being to understand themselves. However, if one were to take a look around our ghettos, one could definitely see the opposite. In mostly inner city environments, there are still problems with drugs, murder, rape, homelessness, disease, sanitation, abandoned property, education and high percentages of unemployment. One could surmise that these neighborhoods are being neglected by their governing bodies, and it so happens to be that there is a high concentration of minorities in these areas.Throughout our history, beginning with the African Americans, we encounter periods of time where our people advance at a faster rate, and certain groups are responsible for carrying out these actions. These periods of time are periods in which our people have revisited their culture. Their way of seeing life was: if one were not able to understand who one was as a people, one could not understand who one was at an individual level. There was a need to understand why is it we looked the way we looked, walk, talk and act the way we acted. There was a need to understand why is it that we were living in the conditions we were living in, at those times, and there is still a need to understand why is it that we live the way we live today.These movements can be traced back beginning with Marcus Garvey, leading to the Harlem Renaissance, Martin Luther King, Cesar Chavez, Malcolm X, the Muslim Nation, the Black Panthers, the Brown Berets, the American Indian Movement, and the Young Lords. One thing in common is that these movements were radical, pro-active movements, they differ in their tactics: Peaceful vs. By Any Means Necessary. During these movements, much was achieved for our communities. Issues such as health, police brutality, sanitation, culture in schools, religion, and every aspect of our lives was altered for the better. Pro-Action catalyzed our progression in US society.The last known large organized movement ended in 1975 and there has not been one since. The beauty of these movements is that they always carry on, and in different forms. The groups who made up of the Rainbow Coalition (AIM, Black Panthers, Young Lords, and the Brown Berets) planted their seed in the institutions where our “talented ten” are arising to take control of our communities.These institutions are our higher education institutions: our colleges and universities. This seed has yet to achieve its full potential due to the lack of resources we encounter in these institutions. Our African-American and Latino studies departments are not being nurtured by the presiding administrations of their existing institutions. However, pseudo departments with paid faculty are put in place to make it seem as if these institutions were taking action on educating minorities on who they are. One thing is clearly understood by students of these institutions, and this is that if it is not organized by the students; students will not take action to a full extent.If one were to take a look at the current statistics of our communities, and how they are suffering, and you really cared about humanity and other people’s lives, one would logically want to take action. These statistics are available to us, free of charge by the census bureau, and other non-profit organizations. Our communities are infested with needs that can be addressed by our educated people. They are put right in our faces when we walk down our own streets, yet no one seems to want to take serious action.These horrible numbers should be a wake up call, a wake up call to political action! There are many existing programs and resources in our institutions that we are not taking advantage of. Plus, the people taking advantage of these resources are not taking the effort to communicate to the rest of our people what we can use to our advantage. If there is a need that is not being addressed by current groups, then begin to let aware the people who need to be let aware, and begin the movement yourself. We can not sit and wait for one person to stand up and take the lead anymore, we need to all stand up together and encourage each other to help the people we are leaving behind.If walking down the streets of our own neighborhoods does not open your mind’s eye enough, then begin to explore who you are as a person, by exploring how you belong to society as a people, as a human being! It doesn’t hurt to open a book, or to attend a meeting to learn a little bit more about whom you are. Books can be reserved free of charge, and are available to us, yet we seem to live on as if our history does not call onto us.The Young Lords party was a Puerto Rican youth organization (average age: 17 years old), who took initiative to learn Puerto Rican history and culture, and assessed their communities to take political action. They assembled Puerto Ricans to attack issues such as sanitation by organizing a garbage offensive; health by taking over Lincoln hospital in the Bronx, hunger by installing free breakfast programs, education by providing political education and cultural education classes, and political power by running for office and making statements such as taking over the statue of liberty in a manner of protest. Thousands of Puerto Ricans were empowered along with every other ethnicity and race in the United States, and are responsible for our political power today. The FBI and US government felt threatened by the upliftment of poor people, and through COINTELPRO demolished the people’s movements throughout history. Many people died and were encarcerated along the way, however felt it was necessary in struggle. Miguel Melendez and Vicente “Panama” Alba were Young Lords members who are still active today. Miguel Melendez writes about his experiences through his book, “We Took The Streets”, and Panama is involved at every level of political action on our streets today. They came to Bridgeport University to share their experiences and enlighten our students on issues that affect them, as well as provide means of inspiration through history and story telling. Their effect is powerful. One can stand in the room and feel the energy flow, people of color feel as if they still have a chance to overcome adversity and still take charge of our communities. Human beings feel that mental and spiritual revolution is still possible and necessary through organized efforts in our communities. To learn more there is a documentary called: “Pa’lante Siempre Pa’lante” (Forward always in Struggle), that details the experience of the Young Lords more clearly.