Racism in a Biblical/Theological Perspective: The Young Lords

                        Racism in a Biblical/Theological Perspective: The Young Lords


This will be the first of two essays focusing specifically on the ethnic/racial discrimination against Puerto Ricans living in mainland U.S.A.  One cannot treat the subject of discrimination without taking into account those groups or persons who fought against the oppression heaped on them by the white power structure.  There may be some that will be offended at the mere mention of ethnic/racial discrimination in ¨the land of the free and home of the brave.¨  But this writer believes in historical and intellectual honesty, stating the facts, as dismal and true that they may be.

The presence of Puerto Ricans in the U.S.A. is no historical accident. There are a series of factors leading to this reality.  People who are familiar with Caribbean and Latin American history will note that the two factors leading to our presence here are the colonization of our lands by Spain, on the one hand, and the neo-colonization of our lands by the U.S.A on the other hand.

In the case of Puerto Ricans on the mainland, it would be more appropiate to speak of ¨emigration," than to speak of ¨migration.¨  In a cultural sense, Puerto Rico is a Latin American nation which has been under U.S. colonization since 1898.  In spite of the fact that Puerto Ricans were declared United States citizens (over and above the opposition of the Puerto Rican leaders at that time), to accept that the exodus to the United States is a simple ¨internal migration" would be equivalent to accepting the claim that Puerto Rico is in integral and indissoluble part of the United States.  The concept of ¨migration¨ has been used as an ideological weapon by defenders of the colonialism under which Puerto Ricans suffer.  The validity of the concept of migration is not denied relative to such phenomena such as the movement of great multitudes of people from the rural areas to the cities.  But its validity cannot be accepted relative to the movement of Puerto Rican compatriots to the metropolis (Manuel Maldonado-Dennis, The Emigration Dialectic: Puerto Rico and the U.S.A.  New York: International Publishers, 1980. p. 24).

Who were the Young Lords and what was their role in dealing with the negative living conditions in which Puerto Ricans in the U.S.A. found themselves? The Young Lords began as a Puerto Rican turf gang in the Lincoln Park section of Chicago, Illinois in the Fall of 1960.  They eventually evolved into a civil and human rights movement on Grito de Lares (Cry of Lares) day on September 23, 1968.  During the tenure of Mayor Richard Daly (Sr.), Puerto Ricans in Lincoln Park (the first hub of Puerto Ricans in Chicago), and several Mexican communities were completely evicted from areas near the Loop lakefront, Old Town, in order to increase property revenues. When they realized that urban renewal was evicting their families and witnessed police abuses,  some Puerto Ricans became involved in the June 1966 Division Street Riots in Wicker Park and Humboldt Park (Gina M. Perez, ¨The Near Northwest Side Story: Migration, Displacement, and Puerto Rican Families. 2005).

They were unofficially reorganized from the gang into a civil and human rights movement by Jose ¨Cha Cha" Jimenez.  Jimenez was the last president of the former gang and became the founder of the new Young Lords Movement (Young Lords in Lincoln Park: Oral history collections, Grand Valley State University/ Special Collections).

The focus of the Young Lords was two-fold, i.e. self-determination of Puerto Rico relative to the political status of the island, and displacement of Puerto Ricans and poor residents from prime real estate areas for profit. Since there were few Latino students and no outspoken leadership at the time, the former street-gang  transformed themselves, training leadership, and organizing the broader community (Judson Jeffries, ¨From Gang-bangers to Urban Revolutionaries: The Young Lords of Chicago." Journal of the Illinois State Historical Society, Autumn 2003).

Eventually, different chapters of the organization were developed across the nation.  On July 26, 1969, the New York branch was formed. New York City became a key area to have this branch because this was where nearly 80% of Puerto Ricans on the mainland lived, and was in a sense, the center of the Puerto Rican diaspora.

In New York, the major focus was on the self-determination of Puerto Rico, and the defense of the democratic rights of Puerto Ricans living in the U.S.A.  In both cities, the Young Lords occupied churches in order to carry out their program of social activism focusing on literacy, health care, clean neighborhoods, and political empowerment.

How do colonization and democratic rights fit into a biblical/theological framework?  I have noted in previous essays that both the Scriptures and the Christian tradition denounce the inhumane and cruel treatment of people.  Colonial subjugation and political disenfranchisement relegate nations and social groups to economic alienation and misery.

How do you as member of the faith community evaluate colonization and the violation of the democratic rights of people within the land?  Please feel free to share your views relative to the issues raised in this essay.
In the Name of the Creator, and of the Liberator, and of the Sustainer. Amen.

Rev. Dr. Juan A. Carmona