The Young Lords root back to the times of the Black Panthers. Inspired by the group’s revolutionary methods to get their message across, Young Lords evolved, transforming themselves from a street gang to a political activist action group. Although the group originally began with Jose “Cha Cha” Jimenez, students like Mickey Melendez took the movement to a new area of focus in locations such as the New York. The East Coast chapter emphasized the unfair treatment occurring with the Puerto Ricans and the lack of resources provided to them. From poor housing, inadequate health care and sanitation services, and inferior schools in East Harlem, the group began to protest and denounce the conditions through the means of highly visible staged actions in the streets of East Harlem.
Personally, I had not previously heard of the Young Lords before. Instead, I have learned more about the Black Panthers, from whom they were inspired by. In history books and social studies classes, I have read of the tactical and radical strategies used by them to get their message across during the civil rights movement. Even though the Young Lord’s history may not be seen much in the public eye, their impact is still prevalent. Their activity from the 1970s still embodies the revolutionary spirit it was meant to entail in the first place. As a minority group, they rose to prominence as a group of activist students calling for change.
I think the movie, Millie and the Lords, portrays Young Lord’s impact in an effective way. As mentioned earlier, it is clear that although their influence was prevalent in today’s society, there are many people today who do not have knowledge regarding the group’s history. These people include Puerto Ricans and Latinos too. As a result, there are many people who feel that there has not been enough done for them. We can see these sentiments through the female character in Millie’s class. She is genuinely disappointed in how the Young Lord’s actions have not made her life easier and that she has to struggle to earn enough money to pay bills and care for her family. I think the movie captures the argumentative side effectively by showing the girl’s firsthand experience. The movie also does a good job in highlighting the cultural influence the Young Lords brought. For example, when the students are at the church of movement, the teacher discusses how the Puerto Rican students of the group were able to form a society among themselves. Together, they were able to improve the community around them by bringing change. Through pivotal scenes such as this one from the movie, we are able to get a good sense of how the Young Lord’s impact has not been entirely forgotten. Yes, they may not be as famous as groups such as the Black Panthers, but the sense of community they were able to garner among the Puerto Ricans speaks for itself.
-SK
