Legacy courses through the veins of a multitude of generations, superseding the previous, yet its power can only be accessed through knowledgeability. The Young Lords, a street gang turned national civil and human rights organization, has paved a road in uncharted territory for Puerto Rican immigrants. Through education, perseverance, and a collective consciousness, they were able to reach reform for their communities across the United States. The film, Millie and the Lords, their legacy is focused primarily in New York City. In the late 1960’s sanitation reform, as well as social reform, swept the communities, yet as their legacy lives on, full justice has not been brought to the Puerto Rican community.

Formed by a group of college students from Columbia University, SUNY-Old Westbury, and Queens College, a five-year plan has been established: you either be free, go to jail, or die, as the movie stated. The need for this type of determination manifests itself through the film’s cinematography. Reform is still needed in low income communities due to the copious amounts of social issues. Discriminatory stop and frisks, the absence of insurance, frequent thefts and burglaries, impossibly low wages, alcohol dependency, gang activity, and minimal college opportunities stump the growth of these communities and give off the illusion that nothing can be done. The uninformed public is conditioned to believe that change is impossible to attain and their voices and wishes will never truly be heard. Thus, one may see where the tactics of the Young Lords can be applicable. By uniting, speaking out, and participating in activism change is possible.

Today, the Young Lords give a sense of unity and pride to the people. Without a collective sense of identity, one would “continue to accept oppression”. Knowledge is a big threat to the establishment and an inconvenience to the oppressor. The Young Lords were infiltrated from within, where factionalism was promoted by pitting group members against one another, stumping the efficiency of their campaigns. Nowadays, by believing that class is not multiracial and focusing on class a subcategory of race, the same factions form.

According to Mouffe, communities have set needs that should be easily accessed by any citizen, regardless of race or class. Some basic rights cannot be denied, and public safety, access to community centers, and decent job opportunities could fall under that category. Throughout the film we see the protagonist struggle with finding money to bring home, battling the danger of the streets at night, the cutting of hours, and domestic abuse which all holds the possibility to shift once there is a call to action. The Young Lords from the 60’s may not be around now, yet their legacy to unite and fight lives on. A shop owner in the film even said, “If it weren’t for them [The Young Lords], I don’t know where I would be.”

V.B.

Gentrification is a process of renovating and improving an urban area that is deteriorated, or may be of lower class value. Powerful and wealthy people may take over this area in order to make it a middle and higher class taste because they believe the area is valuable, however the residents, stores and buildings may not be up to par with their expectations. In addition, they see the potential these poorer neighborhoods have to make great profit, so they advance them through construction in order to attract more wealthy people to live there.

In the 1960s, many parts of New York City carried joblessness, crime, drug addiction and abandonment across entire neighborhoods. African Americans and Puerto Ricans who flocked to New York were faced with many struggles. Jaffe describes “redlining”, which was when federal and local banks forbid them to borrow money in order to gain a place to live. This was because these banks discriminated against these people and did not trust them to ever pay back the loans. Urban Renewal was another effect which faced newcomers. Powerful figures using federal funds to break down neighborhoods without providing adequate housing for the abandoned poor people was a tactic that was advantageous for the more wealthy people, however a nightmare for people who could not find other places to live.

In 1975, the city government ran out of money. In the South Bronx and Central Brooklyn, Landlords began to abandon thousands of apartment buildings and fires were intentionally set by these landlords in order to save themselves and escape the city’s downfall. However, they did not realize that in doing this, the safety and care of the people living in these buildings are now at jeopardy.

Although these people were left abandoned with their buildings, the people of the community formed movements in order to save their neighborhoods in the late 1960s and 70s. Father Louis Gigante was a leader of this time who protested many areas of abandonment. One organization formed was the Mid-Bronx Desperados Housing Corporation (MBD) and another organization included the South East Bronx Community Organization (SEBCO). These organizations held bonfires in order to protest as well as renovation events lead by the people and run by the people. Block by block, apartment buildings for moderate-low class workers were renovated day by day. The Public’s Development Corporation raised over $300,000 in loans for renovations. Not only did this speed up the apartment building renovation process, but it also inspired many other organizations and communities to donate and get involved as well. Brooklyn’s most stressed neighborhoods in like 1990s included Brownsville, Ocean Hill, Bedford Stuyvesant and East New York and these communities saw advancements happening in the Bronx and learned.

The Northwest Bronx Community (NBCC) held campaigns that brought political art into play when campaigning for more money towards poorer areas, and it worked. They persuaded banks to reinvest in at-risk neighborhoods with the campaign sign “Don’t Move! Improve!” as this sign quickly became a known rallying cry. New Yorkers were starting to realize picket lines, sit ins, bonfires and homesteading was not enough to engage powerful and wealthy people in order to convince them to invest. So, in order to gain money and power Gigante’s SEBCO took action and successfully obtained housing funds fro the city, state and federal government. This attracted redevelopers and investors.

The East Brooklyn Congregations was another one of dozens of organizations that helped to bring up the standard of struggling neighborhoods. This was founded by Reverend Jonny Ray Youngblood and its first campaign was to improve local food shopping; which ironically is still an issue in neighborhoods today. They combatted high prices and threatened to call police on health regulations. In addition, Nehemiah homes were built to provide affordable housing in the Bedford Stuyvesant area, Ocean Hill and Crown Heights.

In the Brooklyn chapter of Jeremiah Moss’, Vanishing New York—How a Great City Lost its Soul, Moss clearly captures the gentrification of Brooklyn today and we can compare that to what we read in Jaffe’s description of Brooklyn and the Bronx’s struggle to survive in the 1970s-1990s. Moss describes Brooklyn today in a way that conveys that the people who fought for Brooklyn and its rights in the past are the same people that are being pushed out by wealthy people who are coming in and taking over apartment space. Black owned mom and pop businesses are gradually giving way to high end chains like Shake Shack and a “median priced home [is] $615,000” (Bloomberg Business). Moss explains that “social media” speeds up this process of gentrification, and he is correct. Many people are quickly able to see the beautiful aesthetic of Brooklyn and are realizing that Williamsburg is only one stop away from Manhattan on the L train across the river. It turned from a ghost town to an area filled with luxurious storefronts; a local consumer movement. Brooklyn’s brand is now redeveloped thanks to gentrification and we sure know it is a bad thing, as the poorer people that have been living here for years now can not keep up with the high end stores and increasing rent rates.

Moss beautifully uses juxtaposition to compare Manhattan Ave. and Franklin street of today. He describes Greenpoint to be extremely luxurious and Franklin street more including mom and pop restaurants and more of a homey feel. Bedford Stuyvesant, although its struggle we discussed earlier, is now filled with luxury condos and empty lots that re being prepared for luxury construction. Barclays center came up because of a huge gentrification project as well.

Gentrification is not just see in certain places. We see in Moss’ Queens chapter and the article on Chinatown that these places are also seen as valuable (because they are) and rich people just love to take advantage over every situation they can to make more profit than they already do today.

We should be aware of the effects this has of the people who were at these now “cool” places before us, the affiliation they have with these places, and what would happen if they can not keep up with the rising rent rates. A grandfather plan should definitely be put in place to accommodate these people in order to grant them a normal and steady monthly rate. Hopefully lawmakers will look past the money and “opportunity” that comes with new modern buildings and take care of the people who need the help most. The people who fought when these places were abandoned.

MN

The Young Lords was a national civil rights organization that was created in order to empower and bring equality to the lives of Puerto Ricans and Latinos. In similar fashion to many civil rights organizations, the Young Lords believed in the self-preservation of their culture. I order to determine the continued existence of their culture and lifestyle, they promoted mass-educations programs along with community programs in order to empower Latinos while trying to enrich their unjust lives. In addition to promoting liberation for Latinos, the Young Lords were also severely opposed to racism. As a basis for many of their ideas, the Young Lords looked upon their 13 Point Program which included many of their ideals such as equality for all men and women despite their race and ethnicity.

The Legacy of the Young Lords is one filled with utmost belief in one’s culture and lifestyle despite the views of the society. As seen by the actions of the Young Lords, education and self-preservation was most important to the revolution they sought to bring about. Their ideas of anti-racism and equality for all are of great importance in today’s racism-filled society. For example, the focus on education on the part of the Young Lords helped set an example for the youth of today in order to make them realize the importance of education towards making a change in society. Through education the Young Lords were able to defy the society’s racist ideals and their legacy promotes the same message, urging individuals to embrace their culture despite the societal indifference to their struggles.

The film, Millie and the lords, is set in the present climate of a divided society where people of color are looked down upon. The film begins with highlighting the difficulties facing the Latino community. It highlights the poverty that the Latino community deals with. For example, Millie is a young woman who cannot attend college because she does not have the resources to afford to pay for college. She struggles to get enough working hours so she may help her father with rent, who struggles as well, working long hours as a janitor. However, the movie promotes the legacy of the Young Lords as it switches its focus towards education. As Millie starts to learn about the Young Lords, she begins to turn her life around. Additionally, her fellow classmates begin to see the need for a revolution in order to change their situation and they realize that change begins with them. The movie combines the legacy of the Young Lords with the overall message to the youth, urging them to realize the message that “the biggest threat to establishment is knowledge.” This is the ultimate driving force of the movie as it also promote the ideal that through education, people can unite themselves and bring about a change.

S.Q

When the Puerto Rican were pushed to move and were being threatened in their new neighborhood, they fought against the displacement from Lincoln Park in Chicago, which they called the seek of social justice. Later, it had become the Young Lords’ sought for self-determination for Puerto Rico, Latino nations and all oppressed nations across the country. The party’s effort covered three dimensions: people’s daily needs, social needs and the needs of education. They created community projects centralized around Latinos, such as free food, free health care service, free education about Latino history. They also demanded more environmental and political protections to the Latino community in New York City. Whether this movement was a successful one, it had pointed the Puerto Rican people a way to speak for themselves and to make changes. “Speak Up” and “Revolution” are their legacy.

The world is always changing, but society never spontaneously care for the relatively weaker group of people. The minority groups must fight for their rights. This process of fighting is a critical part of achieving democracy. According to Chantal Mouffe, the true democracy would be accomplished by different groups fighting for their own benefits and eventually they would reach an equilibrium point that every group would be happy about it. However, that point is a dynamic one. It is always changing because as the world keeps developing, the equilibrium would break, creating inequalities between groups. Hence, the groups will restart the process of fighting for benefits until a new equilibrium point is reached. In this manner, fighting is always necessary for the Puerto Rican people. In modern times, the social influence that Young Lords left is so minimal to be helpful for the young generations. From the movie “Millie and the Lords”, we can see that the Puerto Rican people are being marginalized and were too lost to find a way out of the living pressure. And the legacy of the Young Lords would raise their consciousness that it is not their fault that their life ends up like this; it is the failure of the society and they need to stick together and change it. The experience of the Young Lords would give them the guidance of how to fight for their rights and tell the people that success is not impossible

Z.L

For the last 40 years, any individual that has a pair of eyes will notice the tragic difference and dynamic change between 20th Century New York City and  21st Century New York City. With solely a commercial mindset, the government along with “culture” seeking leeches have infiltrated and annihilated the 5 boroughs. Jeremiah Moss compares this mindset to Manifest Destiny, where settlers continue to justify their placement wherever they desire. Throughout the readings, the gravity of gentrification is demonstrated across New York City using statistics, personal stories, and activism.

The dictionary definition of gentrification is to “renovate” and “improve” districts or areas so that they can adjust to the upper class taste. We begin in Brooklyn in the 20th Century; a place where people from Manhattan never visited, a place for people of color and the working class. Norman Podhoretz, a 1930’s blue-collar worker states, “there were no Americans. There were Jews and Negroes and Italians and Poles and Irishmen.” Brooklyn was never meant to be an Anglo-Saxon borough, then came the 60’s and 70’s. Artists, hippies and mostly white middle class individuals began to filter through the neighborhoods of Brooklyn, rehabbing deteriorating brownstones. These “creative” individuals would enter into “all-negro” neighborhoods in search for the ultimate experience of an authentic community experience. In efforts to create this utopian melting pot, the poor were displaced, but the municipal corruption that existed reduced because the benefits of middle class whites improved the conditions of those areas. The spread of gentrification began with Williamsburg, and expanded because of the Internet and social media.

Not long ago, the waterfront of Williamsburg consisted of nothing but low buildings, factories, church steeples and the famous Domino sugar factory. Now, churches have been changed to condos, glittering glass towers hover over the churches left, and “Williamsburg looks like Miami Beach.” Unfortunately in 1999, Williamsburg was discovered and became the new East village filled with hipsters and with them came their yoga, art books, and record shops. Mark Grief identifies hipsters as a “subculture of people who are already dominant,”  “rebel consumer[s],” and artists who create no art. Instead of creating an environment that fosters art, culture and benefit for most, hipsters bring overpriced coffeeshops, rooftops, “neoprimitive” designs and a plethora of chain stores. It is evident that the openings of  Starbucks, Duane Reade, and J.Crew in neighborhoods like this, completes a step in the cycle of gentrification. This is because the bodegas, fresh produce carts, and small businesses are wiped out for the fulfillment of the hipster culture. From 2000-2013, the Latino population declined 27% and the white populations increased by 44% in Williamsburg. It did not end in Williamsburg, other neighborhoods like Bed-Stuy, Bushwick, Greenpoint, and Crown Heights have become and are becoming victims of gentrification.

In Greenpoint’s Manhattan Avenue, individuals barely used their cellphones, people said “excuse me” and held doors for each other. A block over on Franklin Street, the opposite occurred and the “Manhattan” culture seeped in. In Bed-Stuy, the African American culture used to thrive with roots dating back to the 1830’s. In 2001, it was 75% black and its first gentrifiers were middle class African Americans. Unfortunately, after Bloomberg’s marvelous rezoning of 200 blocks, the black population immediately declined to 60% as the white population between 2000-2010 skyrocketed 633%. Ephraim, an individual who moves rent-regulated African Americans, explains how unwanted they are by the upper class whites. He explains that when people move into the buildings in Bed-Stuy they ask if black people were residing there. “If they see one black person in the building they call him and complain about how they aren’t paying money to have black people in their building.” South of Bed-Stuy lies Crown Heights, a neighborhood that used to be affluent but became a predominantly African-American neighborhood. In 2010, the black population shrank from 79% to 70% and the white population doubled to 16%. Statistics like the ones shown above put numbers to the horrors of gentrification and demonstrate the major effects of it on predominantly colored people.

Massive efforts from local church within the boroughs have attempted and succeeded in the past to slow down and remove the efforts of gentrification. In Jaffe’s chapter “Don’t Move! Improve!,” communities in the Bronx and Brooklyn came together, partnered with churches and organizations, and attempted to higher the standard of living in struggling areas. Organizations like the NBCC, SEBCO, and the East Brooklyn Congregations all decided to stand for their ground and take matters into their own hands.

As people walk through the streets of Brooklyn or Queens in search for their “ultimate culture experience” with their $5 coffee, it’s important to understand the culture that actually resided in those places before; understanding just that is what will provide them with the experience they’re looking for. We should follow the paths of the New Housing Activists and push to preserve communities rather than annihilate and gentrify.

Sarah Shafik

In the early morning on June 28, 1969, the police conducted a raid on a gay bar called the Stonewall Inn.  Police raids on gay bars at the time were very common, and despite the outward reasoning that selling alcohol without a liquor license was illegal, the patrons knew that the real reason the police were there was because Stonewall was so prominent.  However, this day was different; the gay patrons of the bar fought back, tussling with police and throwing coins, bottles, and bricks.  The confrontation would eventually grow into a riot.  Four nights later, another crowd gathered outside the club and clashed with police.

The riots at Stonewall would be a turning point for LGBT communities in New York, America, and the world as a whole, igniting a level of self-empowerment and anger that had never been seen before in the gay rights movement.  LGBT people at the time faced violence, discrimination, loss of employment, and more, forced to stay in the closet for their own well-being.  But now, they were encouraged to own their gay identity and to display it freely.  Organizations like the Mattachine Society and Daughters of Bilitis were formed and signified the beginning of a stable gay rights movement, and, according to Jaffe, were influenced by the African-American civil rights movement.  Greenwich Village had opened the nation’s first gay bookstore, the Oscar Wilde Memorial Bookshop, on Mercer Street in 1967.  That same year, the NY Appellate Division ruled that the State Liquor Authority couldn’t prevent bars from serving gay customers without evidence of “indecent behavior”.

Disagreements between older and younger activists in the Mattachine Society over whether gay people should want acceptance or respect led to the formation of the Gay Liberation Front, a militant group that denied the respectability politics that so dominated the MSNY.  The new organization would also face divisions of its own, and the Gay Activists Alliance was formed in rejection to the GLF’s stance that required activists to join a coalition to fight for the rights of POC, straight women, and workers.  Lesbians launched their own movements after facing sexism in the Gay Liberation movement (dominated by men) and homophobia from the Women’s Liberation movement (dominated by straight women); they were convinced that gay women were the only true feminists, and new organizations such as the Radicalesbians formed.  Even despite the creation of all these new splinter groups, gay New Yorkers who felt excluded – such as black people, Latinas, and transvestites formed their own groups.

Despite the strides these groups made, they would have to mobilize new activists due to the rise of the AIDS crisis.  The AIDS Coalition to Unleash Power – or ACT UP – was one of the most successful social movements of the 80s and 90s.  During this time the AIDS crisis was in full swing, and the government response to it was shameful; Ronald Reagan pandered to the religious right and never even mentioned the crisis.  As a whole, American media and society was mostly indifferent to the deaths of thousands of gay men.  ACT UP was unique in that it utilized culture as a form of resistance.  Lampert states “numerous art and video collectives were formed within ACT UP, including the Silence = Death Project…Gran Fury, Little Elvis, GANG, ACT UP Outreach Committee, DIVA TV, Testing the Limits, and House of Color.”  The art created – graphics, posters, billboards, among others – was meant to be personal and evoke deep-seated feelings of anger in those who viewed it.  ACT UP was also organized into a series of caucauses; a majority caucus was formed in 1987 because African-Americans and Latinos were the demographics that represented the highest percentage of AIDS in NYC.  Of course, being an organization dominated by mostly white middle-class gay men had its problems, and sometimes this presented a problem for its nonwhite, female, or poorer members.  However, ACT UP also made an effort to be anti-racist in its activism as well.

While groups and organizations like the Gay Liberation Front and ACT UP may no longer exist or are very small in rank, it is important to remember the steps they took in advancing the gay rights movement and the fight against AIDS.  Even to this day, young LGBT people are encouraged to learn the history of the community, to know what their predecessors fought for so that they themselves will be motivated to fight for a better future.  The history of the LGBT community, not just in New York City, but in America and the world as a whole is a rich one and is full of anger, resistance, and love for each other.  Their legacy is not forgotten and continues to be a source of inspiration for current-day gay rights activists.

-A.H.

Gentrification is a process of renovating and improving an urban area that is deteriorated, or may be of lower class value. Powerful and wealthy people may take over this area in order to make it a middle and higher class taste because they believe the area is valuable, however the residents, stores and buildings may not be up to par with their expectations. In addition, they see the potential these poorer neighborhoods have to make great profit, so they advance them through construction in order to attract more wealthy people to live there.

In the 1960s, many parts of New York City carried joblessness, crime, drug addiction and abandonment across entire neighborhoods. African Americans and Puerto Ricans who flocked to New York were faced with many struggles. Jaffe describes “redlining”, which was when federal and local banks forbid them to borrow money in order to gain a place to live. This was because these banks discriminated against these people and did not trust them to ever pay back the loans. Urban Renewal was another effect which faced newcomers. Powerful figures using federal funds to break down neighborhoods without providing adequate housing for the abandoned poor people was a tactic that was advantageous for the more wealthy people, however a nightmare for people who could not find other places to live.

In 1975, the city government ran out of money. In the South Bronx and Central Brooklyn, Landlords began to abandon thousands of apartment buildings and fires were intentionally set by these landlords in order to save themselves and escape the city’s downfall. However, they did not realize that in doing this, the safety and care of the people living in these buildings are now at jeopardy.

Although these people were left abandoned with their buildings, the people of the community formed movements in order to save their neighborhoods in the late 1960s and 70s. Father Louis Gigante was a leader of this time who protested many areas of abandonment. One organization formed was the Mid-Bronx Desperados Housing Corporation (MBD) and another organization included the South East Bronx Community Organization (SEBCO). These organizations held bonfires in order to protest as well as renovation events lead by the people and run by the people. Block by block, apartment buildings for moderate-low class workers were renovated day by day. The Public’s Development Corporation raised over $300,000 in loans for renovations. Not only did this speed up the apartment building renovation process, but it also inspired many other organizations and communities to donate and get involved as well. Brooklyn’s most stressed neighborhoods in like 1990s included Brownsville, Ocean Hill, Bedford Stuyvesant and East New York and these communities saw advancements happening in the Bronx and learned.

The Northwest Bronx Community (NBCC) held campaigns that brought political art into play when campaigning for more money towards poorer areas, and it worked. They persuaded banks to reinvest in at-risk neighborhoods with the campaign sign “Don’t Move! Improve!” as this sign quickly became a known rallying cry. New Yorkers were starting to realize picket lines, sit ins, bonfires and homesteading was not enough to engage powerful and wealthy people in order to convince them to invest. So, in order to gain money and power Gigante’s SEBCO took action and successfully obtained housing funds fro the city, state and federal government. This attracted redevelopers and investors.

The East Brooklyn Congregations was another one of dozens of organizations that helped to bring up the standard of struggling neighborhoods. This was founded by Reverend Jonny Ray Youngblood and its first campaign was to improve local food shopping; which ironically is still an issue in neighborhoods today. They combatted high prices and threatened to call police on health regulations. In addition, Nehemiah homes were built to provide affordable housing in the Bedford Stuyvesant area, Ocean Hill and Crown Heights.

In the Brooklyn chapter of Jeremiah Moss’, Vanishing New York—How a Great City Lost its Soul, Moss clearly captures the gentrification of Brooklyn today and we can compare that to what we read in Jaffe’s description of Brooklyn and the Bronx’s struggle to survive in the 1970s-1990s. Moss describes Brooklyn today in a way that conveys that the people who fought for Brooklyn and its rights in the past are the same people that are being pushed out by wealthy people who are coming in and taking over apartment space. Black owned mom and pop businesses are gradually giving way to high end chains like Shake Shack and a “median priced home [is] $615,000” (Bloomberg Business). Moss explains that “social media” speeds up this process of gentrification, and he is correct. Many people are quickly able to see the beautiful aesthetic of Brooklyn and are realizing that Williamsburg is only one stop away from Manhattan on the L train across the river. It turned from a ghost town to an area filled with luxurious storefronts; a local consumer movement. Brooklyn’s brand is now redeveloped thanks to gentrification and we sure know it is a bad thing, as the poorer people that have been living here for years now can not keep up with the high end stores and increasing rent rates.

Moss beautifully uses juxtaposition to compare Manhattan Ave. and Franklin street of today. He describes Greenpoint to be extremely luxurious and Franklin street more including mom and pop restaurants and more of a homey feel. Bedford Stuyvesant, although its struggle we discussed earlier, is now filled with luxury condos and empty lots that re being prepared for luxury construction. Barclays center came up because of a huge gentrification project as well.

Gentrification is not just see in certain places. We see in Moss’ Queens chapter and the article on Chinatown that these places are also seen as valuable (because they are) and rich people just love to take advantage over every situation they can to make more profit than they already do today.

We should be aware of the effects this has of the people who were at these now “cool” places before us, the affiliation they have with these places, and what would happen if they can not keep up with the rising rent rates. A grandfather plan should definitely be put in place to accommodate these people in order to grant them a normal and steady monthly rate. Hopefully lawmakers will look past the money and “opportunity” that comes with new modern buildings and take care of the people who need the help most. The people who fought when these places were abandoned.

MN

It wouldn’t be unreasonable to state that racial minority groups are often handed the short end of the stick when it comes to being served by the very government that is meant to help them.  To these groups, there came a time when they looked at themselves and their communities and realized that they simply could not wait any longer for change to come.  Party politics and the electoral process wasn’t satisfactory; they had to take control of their own livelihoods for a change, and make progress on their own terms.  This is the strategy that many Puerto Ricans and Asian-Americans living in New York decided to undertake.

In the year 1969, the Young Lords Organization was formed by Puerto Rican New Yorkers, many of them students, activists, or members of other neighborhood organizations like the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee and the Urban Planning Studio.  In their first act to draw major attention, frustrated with normal political avenues and skeptical of then Mayor Lindsay’s promises, the Young Lords launched their “garbage offensive” that year, sweeping garbage into the streets and disrupting daily life in order to prove to the residents that “bold action that disrupted business as usual was needed to force the city to act on just demands” (Muzio 25).

Young Latinos in the mid-to-late 60s were frustrated with President LBJ’s War on Poverty, which failed to change the terrible economic and social conditions that severely affected the nation’s inner cities dominated by blacks and Latinos.  Not only that, but with the evolution of the civil rights movement into a movement focused on black empowerment rather than integration led to another movement in the city led by black, Puerto Rican, and Asian-American parents to control their local public school, pitting activists against the city’s majority-white teachers’ union.

The Young Lords were motivated mainly by the vision of socialist revolution.  They sought to eliminate poverty and racism.  They were disillusioned by the failure of ‘Nueva York’ to provide jobs and economic security for their families.  In response, they desired control of their own communities, creating the 13 Point Program and Platform to outline their goals.  Additionally, they also sought out the self-determination of all Puerto Ricans, both on the island and off of it.  While some more moderate Puerto Ricans on the island and in New York wanted it to achieve statehood, many – including the Young Lords – preferred that it would become completely independent.

Despite the leaps and bounds that the Young Lords made in the lives of Puerto Ricans, even the most far left of groups can be faced with internal issues that form as a result of their own biases.  For example, male chauvinism was a pressing issue in the organization that many of the female members felt needed to be addressed.  “Machismo”,  a Latino cultural concept that expected women to be basically subservient to men, still influenced the way of thinking for many of the male members of the group.  A Women’s Caucus in the group was eventually formed to overcome the sexism they faced there, with many of the members achieving positions of power alongside the men; eventually the 13 Point Program and Platform was edited to state “DOWN WITH MACHISMO AND MALE CHAUVINISM” (Jaffe 236).  Furthermore, the group’s straight male members worked through letting go of their existent homophobia that stemmed from machismo.  The YLO would welcome new members like transgender activist Sylvia Rivera in 1970 during this time.

Asian-Americans, despite often being viewed as the perfect ‘model minority’, engaged in activism of their own during the 60s and 70s as they experienced injustice and inequality themselves.  Community groups mobilized protests against the beating of a young Chinese American engineer by police in the 70s.  Asian-Americans were distressed by intensifying poverty, illness, and overcrowding as Chinatown’s populations surged; younger Asians also were angered by “racist stereotypes and political powerlessness” (Jaffe 243).  This is the time when Yellow Power came about on the West Coast, and New York Asians who participated in the anti-war movement began to fight for Asian-American issues as well.  I Wor Kuen, a Maoist group, opened a health clinic in Chinatown to combat tuberculosis in 1969; Concerned Asian Students succeeded in getting an AA studies program at City College in 1971.  The legacy of many of these Asian-American activist groups can still be felt in the city now, with groups to this day fighting against a multitude of issues.

The idealistic aspirations of the Puerto Rican and Asian activists did a lot to change the status quo at the time, where instead of simply waiting for change, people went out and made change themselves.  It is important to remember that groups like the Young Lords, while facing internal dissent and slowing radical momentum, were also actively being infiltrated by the NYPD and the FBI through COINTELPRO.  In that way, the government succeeded in suppressing those they saw as a threat, as they have done many times before and continue to do.  Despite this, their legacy still lives on in the work they did and the lives they changed.

-A.H.

For over a hundred years, minority groups such as African Americans and Mexicans have dealt with extreme cases of racism and violence. With much unrest and violence rooted in history, there have been many other instances where actions and movements were created to help them give them a voice. From the actions taken by groups such as the Black Panthers, or movements such as the Chicano, a new wave of change was constantly introduced to enforce their freedom and equality in the American society.

To begin, the Black Power movement was one of the first to truly emphasize the need to embrace black roots. Mostly northern and urban, this movement complemented that of the traditional rights movements introduced by leaders such as Martin Luther King. King believed that the issue of segregation was to be handled calmly through the means of civil disobedience, where peaceful protests would convey messages of enforcing change. Whether that be in the form of sit ins or walks, the southern rights movements promoted the need to demonstrate peace. The urban movement focused on practicing their rights and creating an everlasting image. By incorporating theatrical acts in their actions, they made sure their every move was memorable for the audience, both black and white.

The Black Power movement incorporated poetics and politics to get their message across. For the political aspect of the argument, groups like the Black Panthers made sure to acknowledge their rights to freedom as a citizen to make their argument stronger. For example, in the Sacramento protest, a young black person addressed themselves as “exercising constitutional right to see (my) government making laws, and (my) right under the second amendment to bear arms” (Reed 40). Additionally, built around drama and styled confrontation, the cultural front was more effective in causing a greater impact on the revolt. New messages of black empowerment and pride allowed for young individuals to embrace their culture more through the new “black aesthetic.” In different areas of the society, changes were greatly felt. For example, there was a greater admiration for music like jazz and blues. Black people began to establish their own unique culture within the country by creating new food culture like soul food, practicing holidays like Kwanzaa, and using styles/gestures like the Afro and fist raise. It was simply things like these which revolutionized the black consciousness.

Two very different types of black nationalism are also discussed which rose from the influence of Malcolm X and Leroi Jones. Malcolm X was a very vocal figure for his stance on African American’s needs to achieve freedom and equality. When he was assassinated, the famous group Black Panther was created, to resolve the problems in society and reflect pride in their history and culture. Cofounders Huey Newton and Bobby Seale both felt the importance to emphasize this need for awareness especially after suffering a past filled with hardships and adversity. They created the Ten Point Program meant to demand food, education, safety, etc for blacks. Leroi Jones on the other hand was a famous poet and playwright who rose to prominence with his works. Later changing his name to Amiri Baraka, he supported the creation of new schools for black actors.

Ultimately, the Black Panthers were destroyed by the COINTELPRO after the government began to see them as a threat to safety. After they began infiltrating their organization, the FBI charged about thirty people with capital punishment while hundreds other went to jail. Although things spiraled out of control by the end, their legacy still lies in their ability to have made such a great impact in the black culture. They took the world by storm and demonstrated their strong message to make their voices be heard.

The Mexican Americans (Chicanos) came into existence through their resistance to two wars of conquest. With the first invasion of the Spanish conquistadors, rape, concubinage, and intermarriage led to the variety of different people of all different backgrounds who make up Mexico today. Second, the tensions with United States lead to Mexicans losing their own land after the Mexican-American War. Although most Mexicans have deeper roots to these areas since the time of their ancestors, they are often discriminated and seen as the “illegal aliens.” Before the 1960s, many tried to overcome this racism by denying their Mexican and Indian side and assimilating into the white culture. However, in the 1960s, Mexican Americans were segregated in “barrios” which lead to inferior schools and services, high unemployment, and poverty. To tackle these tensions, resistance had begun amid the times of assimilation, leading to the development of the Chicano movement.

The term “Chicano” meant to announce the emergence of a new political identity, reversing the policies originally set for assimilation. The goal was to revive the cultural heritage that made them unique. One of the most prominent ways people began expressing themselves was through the mural movements. The murals were a way for Chicano and Chicana female artists to address the cultural politics in Mexico. “Reading” the mural from left to right gives strong images of an underlying message. For example, the story of La Adelita, mythical heroine of the Mexican Revolution is seen all the way to Emiliano Zapata and Pancho Villa, the peasant turned folk heroes, and Mexican/Californian Robin Hood Joaquin Murieta. All four of these figures represented that el movimiento, helping to develop a strong sense of history.

The Chicano murals and cultures reached a wide mass of people all over. For example, in places like California, paramilitary group the Brown Berets, arose who protested the police brutality in the barrios. These people had different ideologies yet emphasized the need to get equality as they were always addressed as second-class citizens. With changing times, mural images also began expressing conveying social questions too. For example, mural images like the La Familia, show the stereotyped representations of Mexican American families, which is traditionally male dominated.

Both groups, Blacks and Chicanos, tried to convey themselves through their own unique cultures and traditions. By bringing elements of their heritage into the arts, both have left a massive impact today.

-SK

There have been many myths about the start and execution of the civil rights movement that ultimately led to its success. Many people think that it came out of nowhere and gained the necessary support from a miraculous string of events. This is far from true as the roots of the civil rights movement have been growing from years before the success stories of the 50’s and 60’s. As stated in the reading “Singing Civil Rights”, the events were made possible by “countless hours, months and years of local activists from all segments.”

On that note, another myth was that the movement was mainly run by black men even though women had a very large part of the movement. Ella Baker was the prime example of this, leading the charge of the movement for many years. The amazing thing is, she continued to pursue freedom even without the same fame that the men were getting.

There are several other myths about the movement but these two seem to be the most important to get a true picture of what was really going on. With that said, the specific circumstances that pushed the movement to its maximum power can be seen in a true light. WWII had an immense impact on the movement. The reason is that the US was fighting against Germany because of the Nazi regime’s unfair treatment of innocent people. As the author states in “Singing Civil Rights”, “The irony that blacks were fighting Nazi racism in the name of a freedom they did not possess at home”. This really fully captures the lack of proper morals in the US that was finally coming to smack them in the face.

These causes were years after the movement for freedom originally began. So, what kept these people going all these years? Most analysts agree that it was music that kept them going. Singing freedom songs, specifically the words, “We will overcome”, powerfully influenced the black population to continue even in the darkest of times. There were many specific events that progressed the movement that were all started and sparked by the very music that they were singing.

Asides from music, photography really propelled the movement. The civil rights activists understood the power of photos in order to gain sympathy that inspires change. With that said, the various photos taken by Danny Lyon were very successful for the movement. The courage of Lyon putting himself in danger in order to take some of the pictures was very heroic. As Lampert describes in Chapter 18 of the book, photography became the eyes of the civil rights movement. There were many more photographers and specific events that helped gain ground.

Art also had a large impact on the movement. Emory Douglas and his art was designed to “rip the heart out of those oppressing the black community” (Lampart 199). His art become the icon for the Black Panther Party and its radical beliefs.

It can be concluded from here the importance of political art. It can propel a movement to unimaginable heights. We see this directly through the music, photography and art of the civil rights movement.

IF