BY STUDENT
Why keep the Puerto Ricans oppressed? Throughout history
minorities were oppressed through many forms such as enslavement, lower quality
of food and degrading ones culture. The young lords were inspired by the black
panthers party with a
purpose was to gain social justice for New York’s working-class Latino
population. The young lords originally started as a gang in Chicago, fighting
against the evictions of minorities to increase property revenues in the Latino
dense areas of Chicago. The young lords eventually transformed from a gang to
an organized civil and movement rights movement (NY times, 2015).
The government oppressed Puerto Ricans in many ways. One of
the first ways in which Puerto Ricans felt they needed to take action was
during the month of July in 1969 the sanitation department was not picking up
the garbage that was pilling up on the streets of east Harlem. This movement
was called “the garbage offensive”. The Latinos threw all the trash that was
stockpiled on the sidewalks, onto the cities streets to create a barricade,
which created traffic to get the attention of the sanitation to be forced to pick
up the garbage. (NY times 2015) In December of the same year 13 young lords are
arrested for requesting to use the Methodist church in east Harlem for a simple
community free breakfast program for the poor Latinos (palante) 3 weeks later the
young lords went to their last resort and bared arms to take the church hostage
and renamed it “the peoples church” (1969 manifesto) They occupied it for
almost 2 weeks and gave free breakfast, community day care center, and a place
for poetry slams.
I feel as if Puerto Ricans were oppressed to prevent them
from interrupting the common economic flow of the upper class. Around the time
of the young lords was when the country was trying to still over come racial
bias and white supremacy. It was a generation that was used to the common act
of inequality of minorities. With the city taking away basic human functions
such as communal breakfasts and garbage removal in east Harlem makes Latinos
spend time and energy trying to substitute for the lack of those basic
functions. Which in turn would make it harder for them to move upward in class
and wealth.
References
·
“Young Lords Party: 13- Point Program and Platform”
·
Cotter, Holland. "When the Young Lords Were Outlaws in New
York." The New York Times. The New York Times, 23 July 2015
·
"AboutYoungLords." AboutYoungLords. N.p., n.d.
Web.
<http://palante.org/AboutYoungLords.htm>
I feel as thought the US government has a history of oppressing minorities. For example, Africans and African Americans through slavery and racism now, and the Chinese through the building of the transcontinental railroad. The government likes to take advantage of those who aren't willing to fight for themselves. Like you said, "I feel as if Puerto Ricans were oppressed to prevent them from interrupting the common economic flow of the upper class", I can completely agree with this statement. I think that it is completely true because as history shows, the government wants to stay rich and keep their power. That's why during this time the Puerto Ricans were treated very unfairly through the examples you provided in the second paragraph.
ReplyDeleteI feel as thought the US government has a history of oppressing minorities. For example, Africans and African Americans through slavery and racism now, and the Chinese through the building of the transcontinental railroad. The government likes to take advantage of those who aren't willing to fight for themselves. Like you said, "I feel as if Puerto Ricans were oppressed to prevent them from interrupting the common economic flow of the upper class", I can completely agree with this statement. I think that it is completely true because as history shows, the government wants to stay rich and keep their power. That's why during this time the Puerto Ricans were treated very unfairly through the examples you provided in the second paragraph.
ReplyDeleteThe garbage offensive was something that was very courageous to me. It was like taking a page out of MLK's book, and Malcolm X book. They took the peaceful part by not using any weapons for the garbage offensive from MLK, but took it a step further as maybe malcolm x would do. To me they are someone the young lords probably idealized because they were fighting for their peoples rights.
ReplyDeleteI agree with Rachel's comment about the US's history of oppressing minorities. It has literally been happening since Europeans first came to this country. I do feel that Puerto Ricans have come a long way thanks to the Young Lords and other civil rights movements. The story about the sanitation workers who were not doing their jobs in Harlem was very compelling. It's sickening to know that people who worked for the state and who are supposed to keep our streets clean were instead neglecting it, making it an even worse environment to live on. This can aggravate anyone. It only makes the cities a worse place to live at, making people look like they are dirty, and unbearable to live with, meanwhile it is the state's fault. This truly disgusts me but I am glad to know that they chose an effective method to achieve what they needed to achieve.
ReplyDeleteI definitely agree with Jashiel and Rachel's comments. Minorities have always been oppressed and even now in 2015, decades after segregation laws have been removed out of the laws and etc, people of color continue to live in a spiral of social injustice. I am doing my paper on the young lords and I find it disgusting to see that the government would deny people residing within country basic necessities because of their race. The garbage offensive is definitely something to think about for the fact that the government purposely allowed for Puerto Ricans to live in the slums and tried to make their neighborhoods worse.
ReplyDeleteAll of these points you made, are great examples of the struggles for space that have existed in New York City. These events demonstrated the impact of the Young Lords throughout this struggle and the need to take action. It was not until the garbage issue became an issue for the majority group that action was taken, and this sad reality remains today in many other policy issues. Nevertheless, the actions of the Young Lords had a great impact in the advancement of latino groups and are responsible for many changes that did occur. As they fought for the basic rights of their communities, they played a great role in the development of breakfast programs we have today. Their actions fostered an atmosphere that promoted change. Although many of their projects were temporary, the environment they fostered, and the awakening they helped create, was lasting.
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ReplyDeleteNice blog! I agree with all the comments above. Young Lords were a very important figure to stand a voice for the struggles and mistreatment Puerto Ricans were facing. The method they took to protest again the city for ignoring their necessities were so effective and empowering. It is true that the minorities have always been oppressed. By neglecting the daily sanitations, living conditions of minorities, it portrays that the government didn't really cared about the people living there.It is so unfair. I am glad that they decided to raise their voices and fight for their right they deserve.
ReplyDeleteThe Young Lords are/were true masters of spatial politics and they made that evident through their spectacles. It would be interesting if this was view through that lens. I think with that lens of spatial politics we can truly understand the genius of the Young Lords. They weren't violent but they portrayed themselves like a violent and revolutionary militia.
ReplyDeleteI think the U.S. gets a thrill in oppressing others.It a continual pattern that does not end. Its like there is a mentality that since the original colonist where oppressed by Britain that they have to oppress others.I feel that this mentality is wrong but many people still follow the "I went through it, so should you" mentality.i feel that as a society were are starting to reverse this mentality but we still have a long way to go.
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