Young Lords Party 40th Anniversary Reunion, Sunday, 23 August 2009

Michaelangelo Galloza at the memorial for Sylvia Rivera noted that he and Rivera had been “lifted up by  the Young Lords and the Black Panther Party.” He said the oppressors “still haven’t realized that all the oppression fuels the flames of desire. Galloza described the common ties that he and Sylvia Rivera shared with their revolutionary heroes, including Pedro Albizu Campos, Lolita Lebron and Marsha P. Johnson. What they shared, he said, is that “we are survivors of a war against us, a war we were born into.” With a call to continue the struggle for liberation, Galloza concluded, “We have to work on what separates us from our own spirits by the tools of the oppressors. … By following the truth, we will win.”

[Excerpt from Vicente “Panama” Alba]

Forty years ago this summer the presence of the Young Lords came into the consciousness of all New Yorkers.   What had

once been a gang on the streets of Chicago now was present in New York City.  The Young Lords, no longer a gang, was now a Puerto Rican Revolutionary Nationalist organization fighting for equality, the Human and Civil Rights of Puerto Ricans as well as the Liberation of Puerto Rico.  Within a year, the Young Lords Party’s presence would be felt from Boston to Philadelphia and throughout the Puerto Rican Diaspora.  The Young Lords Party is no longer in existence.  However, the fact that it once did remains felt and its legacy lives.

On Sunday, August 23rd, at 12 noon, many of those who made up this movement will gather at the First Spanish Methodist Church on 111th St and Lexington in NYC’s El Barrio.  This is an invitation to our friends and allies to join us. Those who want to attend, try to get there early as there is limited space.

[Excerpt from Democracy Now!] This weekend marks the 40th anniversary of the founding of the revolutionary community organizing group the Young Lords. The group called for self-determination for all Puerto Ricans, community control of institutions and land, freedom for all political prisoners and the withdrawal of U.S. troops from Vietnam, Puerto Rico and other areas. The Young Lords would also play a pivotal role in spreading awareness of Puerto Rican culture and history, leaving a legacy still felt today. We play excerpts of the documentary “Palante, Siempre Palante! The Young Lords”, and speak to three of the group’s original members: Luis Garden Acosta, Mickey Melendez, and Democracy Now! co-host Juan Gonzalez.