PEP, January 2010: Puerto Rican Heritage. Tribute to activists.

By ALFREDO ALVARADO

DC 37’s Latino Heritage Committee kicked off the annual Puerto Rican Heritage Week Nov. 16 with the traditional ribbon-cutting ceremony, a special presentation of music and poetry and a roundtable discussion on the contributions made by the Puerto Rican activists of the Young Lords Party 40 years ago.

The militant party that was born in Chicago made national headlines when the New York Chapter took over the First Spanish Methodist Church in East Harlem on Dec. 28, 1969, and occupied it for two weeks after they were denied permission to set up a free breakfast program for the community in an unused section of the church.

The Young Lords also aggressively fought for decent health care for poor people and ardently supported independence for Puerto Rico. They organized free testing for lead poisoning in the South Bronx, where they were instrumental in winning better conditions at Lincoln Hospital and introducing sorely needed drug treatment programs.

“The Young Lords were instrumental in raising the political awareness of an entire generation of Puerto Ricans,”said Latino Heritage Committee Co-Chair Carmen Flores.

Committee Chair Santos Crespo compared today’s political situation to the tumultuous 1960s with their massive movements for civil rights. He also urged members to participate in the upcoming 2010 census. “If we are not counted, we do not exist,” he said.

At the closing event on Nov. 20 the committee honored several Puerto Rican activists for their years of dedicated service to the community. Among them were the evening’s keynote speaker, New York City Civil Court Judge Fernando Tapia, who stressed the importance of being well informed when voting for judges. “You can make a huge difference about who sits on the bench for the next 10 years,” he explained.

Also honored was longtime activist Alice Cardona, community liaison for Hispanic affairs for Assembly member Catherine Nolan. She urged union organizers to get together with community organizers. “That’s something that I think needs to happen to build a stronger movement,” she said.

Luis Garden Acosta, a former member of the Young Lords and one of the founders of El Puente Academy in Brooklyn, the first public high school for human rights in the country, was also honored.

Local 1549 Sergeant-at-Arms Nelly Rodriguez and Local 372 Executive Board member Debbie Nuñez received plaques for their community service.

Aurora y Zon del Barrio provided swinging salsa sounds as participants danced the rest of the night away.