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h of

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ist

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man

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tan

a, P

hD

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ista

nt P

rofe

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ith

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ck a

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atin

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bera

tion

orga

niza

tions

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nci

s I.

Boy

le, J

.D.

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aw,

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linoi

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ham

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the

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Jos

e L

opez

,In

His

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n W

ords

My

Ear

ly L

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in P

uert

o R

ico

and

Chi

cago

I w

as b

ora

in S

an S

ebas

tian,

Pue

rto

Ric

o on

Nov

embe

r1,

195

0. S

an S

ebas

tian

is in

the

mou

ntai

ns n

ear

Lar

es.

It is

the

tow

n w

here

the

rev

olut

iona

ry f

orce

s of

Lar

es w

ere

defe

ated

on

Sept

embe

r 24

th,

1868

. B

ut it

is a

lso

the

tow

n w

here

ther

e w

asha

nd-t

o-ha

nd c

omba

t on

the

stre

ets

in 1

868.

My

fam

ily i

s w

hat y

ou w

ould

con

side

r jib

aro.

In

othe

rw

ords

, all

of m

y fa

mily

are

rura

l. N

o on

e w

as b

orn

in a

city

, not

even

my

grea

t gra

ndpa

rent

s. B

asic

ally

we

com

e fr

om a

pea

sant

back

grou

nd.

The

jiba

ro a

re m

ount

ain

peop

le i

n Pu

erto

Ric

o an

din

man

y w

ays

they

hav

e co

me

to s

ymbo

lize

the

Puer

to R

ican

pers

onal

ity in

term

s of

cul

ture

and

cha

ract

eris

tics.

The

mus

ic o

fth

e m

ount

ains

is

still

sym

bolic

of

the

Puer

to R

ican

mus

ical

pers

onal

ity.

My

fam

ily b

asic

ally

sup

port

ed i

tsel

f fr

om w

hat w

epr

oduc

ed.

We

had

a sm

all

farm

of

four

teen

acr

es, w

hich

we

wor

ked

with

an

ox c

art a

nd a

plo

w.

My

mot

her w

as a

far

mer

who

pla

nted

and

gre

w w

hat w

e at

e. S

he w

as a

ver

y ge

nero

us a

ndco

mpa

ssio

nate

wom

an w

ho w

as a

ble

to g

row

mor

e pi

gs a

ndco

ws

than

the

neig

hbor

s.

Eve

ry ti

me

we

wou

ld k

ill a

pig

we

divi

ded

it am

ong

all t

he n

eigh

bors

, w

hich

is a

ver

y co

mm

onpr

actic

e in

Pue

rto

Ric

o. W

e liv

ed in

an

area

that

bec

ame

quite

econ

omic

ally

dep

ress

ed. I

n th

e 19

50s,

whe

n I w

as g

row

ing

up(a

nd I

alw

ays

tell

peop

le t

hat i

n m

any

way

s I h

ave

been

fort

unat

eto

hav

e liv

ed th

roug

h th

ree

cent

urie

s be

caus

e w

e liv

ed th

e lif

e of

a 19

th c

entu

ry P

uert

o R

ican

pea

sant

), w

e ha

d no

runn

ing

wat

er,

elec

tric

ity o

r in

door

plu

mbi

ng.

I fi

rst s

aw T

V in

195

9.

Ire

mem

ber

man

y of

the

peop

le i

n Sa

n Se

bast

ian

did

not h

ave

big

piec

es o

f la

nd a

nd i

t bec

ame

incr

easi

ngly

dif

ficu

lt fo

r peo

ple

toek

e ou

t an

exi

sten

ce i

n fa

rmin

g. M

y fa

ther

lef

t Pu

erto

Ric

o in

the

late

194

0s f

or C

hica

go.

He

was

one

of

the

firs

t Pue

rto

Ric

ans

to c

ome

to C

hica

go.

In '5

7 m

y ol

dest

sis

ter

and

Osc

arca

me

to C

hica

go to

live

with

my

fath

er.

In 1

959

my

fath

er w

as i

njur

ed.

He

used

to w

ork

on a

stee

l pip

e lin

e in

Fra

nklin

Par

k. H

e lo

st m

ost

of th

e us

e of

his

righ

t han

d be

caus

e th

e pi

pes

fell

on h

im.

The

com

pany

mad

e a

deal

with

him

so

that

he

wou

ld n

ot s

ue th

em.

The

y pa

id h

im a

cert

ain

amou

nt o

f m

oney

and

gav

e hi

m a

sup

ervi

sory

pos

ition

in

the

fact

ory.

So

my

fath

er b

roug

ht u

s he

re in

195

9.B

asic

ally

our

mot

her

rais

ed u

s. W

e ha

d no

rea

l fa

ther

figu

re a

nd o

ur m

othe

r ac

ted

as a

fat

her

and

mot

her.

I t

hink

that

help

ed u

s a

lot b

ecau

se o

ur m

othe

r w

as a

ver

y in

depe

nden

tw

oman

. She

taug

ht u

s th

at th

ere

was

no

wom

an's

job

and

nom

an's

job

beca

use

we

all h

ad to

lear

n to

coo

k, to

iron

, to

do a

llth

e th

ings

that

in P

uert

o R

ico

wer

e co

nsid

ered

wom

en's

wor

k.Sh

e ta

ught

us

to o

verc

ome

that

kin

d of

div

isio

n of

labo

r.M

y m

othe

r ne

ver

wen

t to

sch

ool

and

neve

r le

arne

d to

read

or w

rite

. Yet

my

mot

her

had

an in

cred

ible

com

pend

ium

inhe

r m

ind

of P

uert

o R

ican

his

tory

and

Pue

rto

Ric

an li

tera

ture

.Sh

e w

ould

rec

ite to

us

poem

s by

Dav

ila a

nd J

ose

de D

iego

. W

egr

ew u

p w

ith h

er r

eciti

ng p

oem

s to

us

that

she

had

hea

rd f

rom

her

fath

er.

She

was

abl

e to

mem

oriz

e al

l the

se th

ings

. She

als

okn

ew a

gre

at d

eal

of p

oliti

cs.

Whe

n sh

e ca

me

to C

hica

go s

he f

aced

inc

redi

ble

odds

.M

y fa

ther

left

her

and

we

wer

e in

dir

e po

vert

y. M

y m

othe

r us

edto

mak

e ni

nety

cen

ts a

n ho

ur w

orki

ng in

a la

undr

y in

whi

ch s

heha

d fo

ur p

ress

es.

Whe

n sh

e w

ould

com

e ho

me,

her

arm

s w

ould

be a

ll bu

rned

. It

was

rea

lly v

ery

pain

ful.

In o

rder

for

her

to s

ave

a qu

arte

r on

the

bus

she

wou

ld w

alk

from

the

4000

blo

ck o

fD

ivis

ion,

whe

re R

ainb

ow C

lean

ers

was

, to

the

2100

blo

ck o

fD

ivis

ion

stre

et w

here

we

lived

. She

wal

ked

twen

ty b

lock

s to

save

a q

uart

er in

ord

er t

o ke

ep a

nd m

aint

ain

us.

Whe

n w

e fi

rst

cam

e he

re w

e liv

ed in

the

1800

blo

ck o

fW

ood

on H

addo

n. I

t was

a f

ilthy

pla

ce th

at w

as l

ater

con

-de

mne

d:

My

fath

er g

ot th

e pl

ace

beca

use

it w

as r

eally

che

ap.

Itw

as o

ne o

f th

ose

horr

ible

pla

ces

wit

h ro

ache

s an

d ev

eryt

hing

.T

he m

an s

ubdi

vide

d th

e ap

artm

ents

so

that

a lo

t of

Puer

to R

ican

sco

uld

live

ther

e. I

t was

mad

e fo

r thr

ee f

amili

es, b

ut th

ere

wer

esi

x fa

mili

es i

n th

is b

uild

ing.

I ha

ve li

ved

in th

is a

rea

for

forty

yea

rs.

Had

don

is a

smal

l st

reet

and

a lo

t of

Polis

h pe

ople

liv

ed th

ere.

Whe

n w

ew

ent t

o sc

hool

we

had

to w

alk

dow

n H

addo

n St

. E

very

mor

ning

the

Polis

h la

dies

wou

ld s

tand

out

side

thei

r hou

ses

swee

ping

with

thei

r br

oom

s so

we

wou

ld n

ot w

alk

on th

e si

dew

alk.

The

yfo

rced

us

to g

o in

to th

e st

reet

. So

, im

med

iate

ly, I

kne

w w

e w

ere

diff

eren

t. In

act

ual f

act,

thes

e Po

lish

peop

le w

ere

all

imm

igra

nts,

yet

they

fel

t the

y w

ere

muc

h be

tter

than

we

wer

e.T

heir

trea

tmen

t of

us g

ave

me

an id

ea a

t a v

ery

earl

y ag

e w

hat

whi

te s

kin

priv

ilege

is re

ally

all

abou

t. It

may

not

be

real

,be

caus

e th

eir

cond

ition

s w

ere

not m

uch

bette

r tha

n w

ere

our

cond

ition

s, y

et th

ey f

elt

they

wer

e be

tter t

han

we

wer

e. T

hey

calle

d us

"Y

ou d

irty

Pue

rto

Ric

ans.

" T

hey

insu

lted

us.

It w

asn'

tsu

bmer

ged.

It w

as v

ery

open

, not

hing

cov

ert a

bout

the

beha

vior

of th

ose

ladi

es.

We

had

rela

tions

hips

with

thei

r kid

s, e

ven

thou

gh th

eir

pare

nts

didn

't lik

e th

em to

han

g ou

t with

us.

You

can'

t div

ide

kids

.I w

ent t

o an

old

scho

ol th

at h

ad a

clo

set

whe

re y

ou hu

ng u

p yo

ur

"T

he te

ach

ers

coul

d n

otco

at, w

hich

was

a hu

ge

see

me

as a

Pu

erto

Ric

an...

clos

et, w

ith b

athr

oom

s ...

The

y w

ante

d to

cal

l m

eof

f it

. T

hat's

whe

re th

ey

joe.

I in

sist

ed t

hat

th

eyw

ould

put

us

[the

Puer

to

Cfl

// m

e J

oge

j con

scio

usly

Ric

an k

ids]

, bec

ause

the

, .

_,

,. ,

teac

hers

did

n't w

ant t

o

keP

t "

* U

CC

en

t m

EnS

hsh

'sp

end

any

time

with

us.

If

™as P

art

°fm

y w

ho

le

Som

etim

es th

ey w

ould

id

ea o

f h

ow t

o ke

ep m

y ow

nge

t a k

id w

ho kn

ew a

id

entit

y as

a P

uer

tolit

tle b

it m

ore

Eng

lish,

R

ica

n. "

and

have

us

read

boo

ksto

the

othe

rs.

Tha

t'sal

mos

t al

l we

did

the

entir

e da

y. I

don

't ev

en k

now

how

we

real

ly w

ere

able

to p

ass

grad

es,

beca

use

the

teac

hers

did

n't c

are.

The

re w

as n

o bi

-lin

gual

educ

atio

n.

The

re w

as n

o at

tem

pt to

be

part

of t

he c

lass

room

setti

ng.

You

wer

e se

greg

ated

fro

m t

he c

lass

room

, yo

u w

ere

liter

ally

in th

e cl

oset

. T

he c

lass

was

doi

ng it

s ow

n w

ork.

Onc

e

8

in a

whi

le, t

he te

ache

r w

ould

go

into

the

clos

et a

nd g

o ov

er a

mat

h pr

oble

m o

r som

ethi

ng l

ike

that

, but

unt

il yo

u kn

ew E

nglis

h,yo

u w

ere

com

plet

ely

segr

egat

ed.

I was

a li

ght-s

kinn

ed P

uert

o R

ican

, I li

ked

read

ing

a lo

t,an

d I w

as c

onsi

dere

d a

smar

t kid

. T

he te

ache

rs c

ould

not

see

me

as a

Pue

rto

Ric

an.

The

y w

ould

try

to m

ake

me

into

a li

ttle

Ital

ian

boy.

The

y w

ante

d to

cal

l me

Joe.

I in

sist

ed th

at th

ey c

all m

eJo

se.

I con

scio

usly

kep

t my

acce

nt i

n E

nglis

h.

It w

as p

art o

fm

y w

hole

idea

of h

ow to

kee

p m

y ow

n id

entit

y as

a P

uert

oR

ican

. A

ll of

thes

e pr

actic

es b

egan

to c

reat

e in

me

a se

nse

that

we

wer

e di

ffer

ent,

that

ther

e is

som

ethi

ng h

ere

that

is n

ot ri

ght.

The

Dev

elop

men

t of

My

Polit

ical

Con

scio

usne

ss

Whe

n I c

ame

to C

hica

go, t

he C

uban

revo

lutio

n ha

d ju

stoc

curr

ed a

nd b

y 19

60 o

r 19

61 th

ere

was

all

this

talk

abo

ut th

eC

uban

rev

olut

ion.

My

fath

er h

ad a

Cub

an fr

iend

who

had

bee

nin

volv

ed in

the

July

26t

h m

ovem

ent h

ere

who

wen

t bac

k to

Cub

ain

196

1 w

ith h

is w

hole

fam

ily. A

s a

little

kid

I n

ever

lik

ed to

pla

yw

ith to

ys, I

nev

er l

iked

to b

e ar

ound

littl

e ki

ds.

I wou

ld a

lway

sbe

aro

und

adul

ts, a

nd I

alw

ays

liste

ned

to a

dult

conv

ersa

tions

. I

rem

embe

r w

hen

I was

fiv

e or

six

yea

rs o

ld, I

list

ened

to th

eco

nver

satio

ns b

etw

een

my

fath

er a

nd th

e C

uban

fam

ily. I

re-

mem

ber

a co

nver

satio

n w

ith a

Pue

rto

Ric

an b

arbe

r w

ho b

roug

htth

ese

little

leaf

lets

put

out

by

the

Fair

Pla

y fo

r C

uba

Com

mitt

eein

Spa

nish

and

Eng

lish.

Tha

t was

one

of

the

first

pol

itica

ldo

cum

ents

that

I g

ot.

I beg

an to

del

iver

new

spap

ers

whe

n I w

asab

out t

en o

r ele

ven

and

I use

d to

read

them

. It

's ve

ry h

ard

to s

ayw

hen

I go

t a c

onsc

ious

ness

of b

eing

Pue

rto

Ric

an.

I jus

t kne

w I

was

Pue

rto

Ric

an.

I hav

e ne

ver

thou

ght o

f an

y ot

her

optio

n fo

rPu

erto

Ric

o th

an In

depe

nden

ce.

I was

a s

trong

bel

ieve

r in

the

Am

eric

an s

yste

m a

nd in

dem

ocra

cy.

And

I th

ough

t tha

t all

you

had

to d

o w

as m

ake

real

ly g

ood,

cog

ent a

rgum

ents

to th

e U

.S.

gove

rnm

ent

and

you

coul

d pr

obab

ly g

ain

inde

pend

ence

.W

hen

I was

13

year

s ol

d I g

ot in

volv

ed i

n th

e D

emo-

crat

ic P

arty

. A

Pol

ish

prec

inct

cap

tain

cam

e to

my

hous

e an

d w

ebe

gan

to ta

lk a

bout

pol

itics

. I r

eally

enj

oyed

it.

Litt

le b

y lit

tle I

bega

n to

hel

p hi

m b

y ge

tting

peo

ple

to v

ote.

He

was

n't j

ust a

polit

ical

hac

k, h

e w

as v

ery

conc

erne

d ab

out p

eopl

e. H

e w

ould

alw

ays

be d

oing

littl

e fa

vors

; fo

r ex

ampl

e, if

you

got

a ti

cket

peop

le w

ould

look

to h

im b

ecau

se h

e co

uld

reso

lve

it fo

r the

m.

Ibe

gan

to w

ork

wit

h hi

m a

nd in

196

4 I p

artic

ipat

ed i

n m

y fir

stel

ectio

n. T

he o

ld P

olis

h m

achi

ne p

oliti

cian

s re

ally

beg

an t

o lik

em

e a

lot.

I wen

t to

a lo

t of p

oliti

cal r

allie

s an

d re

cept

ions

. I g

otto

mee

t Joh

nson

and

Hub

ert H

umph

rey.

At a

ver

y yo

ung

age

thes

e pe

ople

exp

osed

me

to th

ings

that

no

kid

even

get

s ex

pose

dto

toda

y. I

als

o st

udie

d M

alco

lm X

and

was

insp

ired

by

him

. I

got v

ery

activ

e at

Tul

ey H

igh

Scho

ol.

Whe

n I w

as in

8th

gra

de I

edite

d a

new

spap

er c

alle

d th

e C

hopi

n C

hatte

r w

hich

was

the

scho

ol n

ewsp

aper

. Pe

ople

wro

te s

tupi

d th

ings

like

littl

e go

ssip

and

I di

d no

t wan

t to

do th

at. I

wro

te a

bout

the

sign

ific

ance

of

holid

ays,

par

ticul

arly

the

Jew

ish

holid

ays

beca

use

nobo

dyw

ante

d to

talk

abo

ut J

ewis

h ho

liday

s. I

als

o pa

rtic

ipat

ed a

lot h

iex

trac

urri

cula

r ac

tiviti

es.

In 1

967,

whe

n I w

as s

even

teen

yea

rsol

d, I

was

the

firs

t Lat

ino

pres

iden

t of

the

city

-wid

e st

uden

tco

unci

l. W

e fo

rmed

an

allia

nce

with

the

Bla

ck s

tude

nts.

I d

id a

lot o

f thi

ngs

in s

choo

l whi

le I

was

pre

side

nt o

f the

city

wid

est

uden

t co

unci

l. W

e co

llect

ed m

oney

and

bui

lt a

scho

ol w

hich

was

in B

eliz

e an

d m

ost p

eopl

e di

d no

t eve

n kn

ow w

here

Bel

ize

was

at t

hat t

ime.

In h

igh

scho

ol I

wan

ted

to b

e a

polit

icia

n an

d a

law

yer.

For

a ve

ry s

hort

per

iod

of ti

me

I had

bee

n an

alta

r boy

and

I al

soha

d th

ough

t ab

out b

eing

a p

ries

t. W

hen

I wen

t to

Loy

ola

Uni

-ve

rsity

, I re

aliz

ed t

hat l

aw w

as n

ot a

fie

ld th

at I

wan

ted

and

I got

into

his

tory

and

that

is p

retty

muc

h w

here

I h

ave

stay

ed.

At L

oyol

a I b

ecam

e ve

ry in

volv

ed in

stu

dent

pol

itics

. I

was

par

ticul

arly

act

ive

agai

nst t

he w

ar i

n V

ietn

am.

By

the

late

'60s

the

war

in V

ietn

am h

ad b

ecom

e re

ally

out

rage

ous.

It

was

ape

riod

in

whi

ch th

e B

lack

mov

emen

t had

take

n a

turn

, a m

uch

mor

e ra

dica

l tu

rn.

I beg

an to

que

stio

n a

lot o

f th

ings

tha

t I h

adre

ally

bel

ieve

d an

d be

gan

to c

hang

e, e

xcep

t, of

cou

rse,

in th

ew

ay I

dre

ss.

I ha

ve a

lway

s be

en a

ver

y co

nser

vativ

e dr

esse

r.A

fter

col

lege

, I c

ame

back

to

teac

h at

Tul

ey H

igh

Scho

olin

197

1. T

he f

irst

thin

g I

did

was

to te

ach

a L

atin

Am

eric

anH

isto

ry c

lass

. R

icar

do J

imen

ez w

as o

ne o

f my

stud

ents

. A

sate

ache

r, th

is w

as th

e fir

st t

ime

I go

t to

go to

the

teac

her's

loun

ge.

10

Whe

n I w

ent i

n I

saw

my

ex-E

nglis

h te

ache

r as

leep

on th

e so

fa w

ith a

sig

nth

at re

ad "

Do

Not

Dis

turb

! Pu

erto

Ric

ans

at W

ork.

" T

hen

itda

wne

d on

me

that

raci

sm d

oes

not h

ave

tobe

ove

rt.

In s

o m

any

way

s ra

cism

is

part

of

the

cultu

re.

The

re is

a s

ubtle

raci

sm t

hat a

ffec

ts a

lot o

f tea

cher

s an

d a

lot o

f peo

ple

that

is n

otsh

own

open

ly b

ut th

at is

ther

e. T

he m

essa

ge w

as th

at P

uert

oR

ican

s ar

e la

zy.

Tha

t was

a b

ig e

ye o

pene

r fo

r m

e. I

t was

my

expe

rien

ce a

s w

ell a

s th

e ex

peri

ence

of

Car

men

Val

entin

who

was

a c

ouns

elor

at T

uley

Hig

h Sc

hool

and

that

of

my

brot

her

who

was

doi

ng w

ork

in th

e co

mm

unity

. W

e be

gan

to m

eet

toge

ther

afte

r sc

hool

with

a g

roup

of

stud

ents

and

that

is h

ow o

urhi

gh s

choo

l [D

on P

edro

Alb

izu

Cam

pos

Hig

h Sc

hool

] go

tst

arte

d, in

a v

ery

smal

l ch

urch

bas

emen

t at

204

2 W

. Aug

usta

By

1968

I b

roke

with

the

Dem

ocra

tic P

arty

bec

ause

Ifo

und

ther

e w

as n

othi

ng th

at I

cou

ld d

o th

ere.

I b

elie

ved

that

elec

tora

l po

litic

s w

ere

not

the

answ

er.

At t

he s

ame

time,

Ial

way

s ha

d a

lot o

f pro

blem

s w

ith

the

whi

te le

ft be

caus

e m

any

ofth

ose

peop

le f

elt t

hey

wer

e ou

r sa

vior

s. I

met

whi

te l

eftis

tsbe

caus

e th

ey h

ad m

ade

cont

acts

wit

h th

e Y

oung

Lor

ds.

In th

e m

id-1

970s

, the

FA

LN

em

erge

d, w

hich

cha

lleng

eda

lot o

f peo

ple

to r

ethi

nk th

e w

hole

issu

e of

wha

t kin

d of

pol

iti-

cal m

ovem

ent t

hey

wer

e bu

ildi

ng.

Did

the

mov

emen

t nee

d to

prot

ect i

tsel

f? W

ere

the

Nat

iona

list

s' p

oliti

cs o

f ins

urre

ctio

nfr

om t

he '3

0s,

40s

and

'50s

pas

se?

The

se w

ere

issu

es th

enbe

ing

deba

ted

in th

e Pu

erto

Ric

an in

depe

nden

ce m

ovem

ent.

We

wer

e fo

rced

to

deba

te th

em b

ecau

se o

f th

e em

erge

nce

of th

ear

med

cla

ndes

tine

mov

emen

ts.

Pers

onal

ly, i

f I

go b

ack

and

look

at th

at p

erio

d I

feel

ver

y st

rong

ly t

hat w

hile

it w

as v

ery

impo

rtan

tfo

r pe

ople

to

do th

at k

ind

of w

ork,

it w

as a

lso

real

ly im

port

ant

for

peop

le to

do

the

kind

of p

ubli

c w

ork

that

we

wer

e do

ing.

Man

y of

us

conc

lude

d th

at th

e is

sue

for

Puer

to R

ican

Ind

epen

- 11

denc

e co

uld

not b

e di

vorc

ed f

rom

the

day-

to-d

ay s

trug

gles

of t

hePu

erto

Ric

an p

eopl

e fo

r th

eir

dem

ocra

tic r

ight

s, s

uch

as b

i-lin

gual

edu

catio

n, b

ette

r he

alth

car

e, h

ousi

ng,

med

ical

car

e,de

cent

livi

ng c

ondi

tions

. W

e w

ere

livi

ng in

a g

hetto

. As

a re

sult

of th

at c

oncl

usio

n, w

e co

ntin

ued

to d

o th

e w

ork

that

has

cha

rac-

teri

zed

us to

this

day

, whi

ch i

s w

orki

ng o

n is

sues

suc

h as

hea

lthca

re, e

duca

tion,

and

pol

ice

brut

alit

y. A

t the

sam

e tim

e, w

e be

gan

to o

rgan

ize

the

wor

k to

fre

e th

e Pu

erto

Ric

an p

olit

ical

pri

sone

rs[t

he f

ive

Puer

to R

ican

Nat

iona

list

s]. I

n so

me

way

s, w

e w

ere

the

cata

lyst

for

the

wor

k to

fre

e th

e pr

ison

ers

in th

e '7

0s.

And

our

wor

k to

fre

e th

e pr

ison

ers

cont

inue

s to

this

day

.

Dec

ades

of

Inte

nse

Rep

ress

ion

and

Res

ista

nce

In 1

976,

1 w

as g

iven

a s

ubpo

ena

to a

ppea

r be

fore

aG

rand

Jur

y th

at w

as s

uppo

sedl

y in

vest

igat

ing

the

whe

reab

outs

of

my

brot

her,

Osc

ar L

opez

, Car

los

Alb

erto

Tor

res

and

othe

r peo

ple

they

cla

imed

wer

e m

embe

rs o

f th

e FA

LN

. W

hen

I ap

pear

edbe

fore

the

Gra

nd J

ury

to te

ll th

em w

hy I

wou

ld n

ot c

oope

rate

,th

e fi

rst

thin

g th

e U

.S. a

ttor

ney

aske

d m

e w

as a

bout

my

polit

ical

activ

ity.

Thi

s ha

d no

thin

g to

do

wit

h th

e na

ture

of

the i

nves

tiga

-tio

n, w

hich

was

sup

pose

dly

to d

eter

min

e th

e w

here

abou

ts o

f my

brot

her.

As

a re

sult,

we

knew

it w

as a

pol

itic

al G

rand

Jur

y. W

ede

noun

ced

it as

suc

h; w

e cr

eate

d a

mov

emen

t abo

ut it

; and

we

wen

t to

jail

bec

ause

of

it. I

was

in

jail

for

sev

en m

onth

s, a

long

wit

h R

ober

to C

alde

ro, R

icar

do R

omer

o, a

nd P

edro

Arc

hule

tabe

caus

e I r

efus

ed t

o co

oper

ate

with

the

gran

d ju

ry.

The

Mov

imie

nto

de L

iber

atio

n N

acio

nal,

the

ML

N,

form

ed r

ight

at t

his

junc

ture

, in

197

7. W

e un

ders

tood

tha

t we

coul

d no

long

er d

o th

is w

ork

as s

epar

ate

entit

ies.

We

need

ed a

unif

ied

wor

ld v

iew

for

the

peop

le f

acin

g gr

and

jury

rep

ress

ion.

Mex

ican

peo

ple

wer

e go

ing

to p

riso

n an

d at

that

tim

e w

e sa

w th

eim

port

ance

of

unif

ying

wha

t fe

w r

esou

rces

we

had

as P

uert

oR

ican

s an

d M

exic

ans.

Lat

er o

n w

e un

ders

tood

we

need

ed to

be

sepa

rate

d, b

ecau

se w

e di

d no

t se

e th

at o

ne o

rgan

izat

ion

coul

dbr

ing

the

two

ques

tions

tog

ethe

r.T

his

was

rea

lly

a ve

ry i

nten

se p

erio

d, b

ecau

se li

tera

lly

from

197

6 on

war

d, th

e P

uert

o R

ican

com

mun

ity w

as a

n oc

cu-

12

pied

com

mun

ity.

In 1

976,

the

FBI

bega

n its

wor

k to

try

and

find

my

brot

her

and

Car

los

Alb

erto

. T

hey

had

actu

ally

set

up

a w

hole

repr

essi

ve a

ppar

atus

, whi

ch in

clud

ed th

e ro

ad b

lock

s of

Nor

than

d W

este

rn d

urin

g w

hich

tim

e th

ey a

ctua

lly p

ulle

d pe

ople

out

of

thei

r ca

rs.

Peo

ple'

s ho

uses

wer

e ra

ided

. O

ne n

ight

, my

mot

her's

hous

e w

as ra

ided

with

flo

odlig

hts

and

rifl

es a

nd th

ey c

ame

look

ing

for

my

brot

her,

:rz^

=zr

z==

=r=

z==

=rr

==

=r=

rr=

=:

know

ing

my

brot

her

was

n't

ther

e. W

e us

ed"I

n 19

79,

we

wel

com

ed t

he

to b

e fo

llow

ed e

very

-N

atio

nalis

ts t

o C

hica

go.

The

whe

re.

All

of o

ur w

ork

outp

ouri

ng o

f su

ppor

t for

w

as

unde

r atta

ck.

them

in

the

com

mun

ity w

as

1m

onth

°,r ̂

™on

ths

...,

, .

. .

.. af

ter

my

rele

ase

from

incr

edib

le,

beyo

nd a

nyth

ing

I ja

|1 in

June o

f 19?g

we

wou

ld h

ave

dre

am

t of

. I

had

a co

nfer

ence

aga

inst

alw

ays

thin

k th

at o

ne o

f th

e po

lice

brut

ality

togr

eate

st d

ays

of m

y lif

e w

as

asce

rtain

the

dept

hs o

fth

e da

y th

e N

atio

nalis

ts c

ame

Po

lice

bru

talit

y. It

„

cons

iste

d of

a p

ublic

hear

ing

and

a pa

nel.

At

— th

e en

d of

the

conf

er-

ence

we

wer

e cl

eani

ngup

and

two

unde

rcov

er C

hica

go p

olic

e ca

me

and

bega

n to

atta

ckus

. I w

as w

ith m

y da

ught

ers,

Lol

ita w

ho w

as a

yea

r an

d ha

lf a

ndM

aria

And

rea

who

was

alm

ost f

our

year

s old

. All

ofsu

dden

the

y m

oved

tow

ards

me

and

put

a gu

n to

my

head

. I

was

tryi

ng to

get

my

daug

hter

s in

my

car

and

I th

ough

t thi

s gu

y w

asgo

ing

to b

low

my

head

off

. I

did

not w

ant m

y da

ught

ers

to s

eeit.

All

of a

sud

den

I lo

oked

up

and

all I

cou

ld s

ee w

ere

polic

eca

rs e

very

whe

re.

We

wer

e ar

rest

ed a

nd ta

ken

to th

e 13

th D

istr

ict

and

inte

rrog

ated

. I w

as i

n te

rrib

le p

ain

beca

use

my

ribs

wer

ebr

oken

, m

y cu

ffed

han

ds w

ere

blee

ding

, and

they

had

alr

eady

gotte

n pu

ss in

them

. T

hey

kept

me

in th

ere

for

the

entir

e ni

ght.

The

nex

t da

y, in

tere

stin

gly

enou

gh, w

e w

ere

supp

osed

to

hold

am

arch

in th

e co

mm

unity

aga

inst

pol

ice

brut

ality

. It

was

one

of

the

mos

t su

cces

sful

mar

ches

we

ever

had

! T

he p

olic

e th

ough

tth

at b

y pu

tting

me

in ja

il th

ey w

ere

goin

g to

be

able

to c

onta

in it

.

13

We

bega

n th

e Pu

erto

Ric

an P

eopl

e's

Para

de in

197

7,al

mos

t at

the

spot

whe

re I

had

bee

n ar

rest

ed a

few

day

s ea

rlie

r.D

espi

te a

ll th

e at

tack

s, s

urve

illan

ce,

and

nega

tive

pro

paga

nda

put

out

abou

t us

in th

e ne

wsp

aper

s, w

e w

ere

able

to s

urvi

ve a

ndgr

ow.

In 1

979,

we

wel

com

ed t

he N

atio

nalis

ts to

Chi

cago

. T

heou

tpou

ring

of

supp

ort

for

them

in th

e co

mm

unity

was

inc

redi

ble,

beyo

nd a

nyth

ing

I wou

ld h

ave

drea

mt o

f. I

alw

ays

thin

k th

at o

neof

the

grea

test

day

s of

my

life

was

the

day

the

Nat

iona

lists

cam

eou

t.T

here

has

nev

er b

een

a tim

e si

nce

the

late

'60s

that

we

have

not

bee

n in

volv

ed in

one

deg

ree

or a

noth

er in

pol

itic

alpr

ison

er w

ork.

In 1

978

Will

iam

Gui

llerm

o M

oral

es w

as a

rres

ted

in N

ew Y

ork

and

we

had

to m

ount

a m

ajor

cam

paig

n to

exp

lain

that

he

was

inca

rcer

ated

as

a po

liti

cal p

riso

ner,

as

a pr

ison

er o

fw

ar.

On

Apr

il 4,

198

0, th

e pe

ople

who

wer

e ac

cuse

d of

bei

ngm

embe

rs o

f th

e FA

LN

wer

e ar

rest

ed.

At t

hat t

ime

we

did

not

know

exa

ctly

who

had

bee

n ar

rest

ed.

We

had

hear

d th

e ne

ws

brie

f th

at p

eopl

e ha

d be

en a

rres

ted

and

they

wer

e co

nnec

ted

with

the

FAL

N.

We

bega

n to

org

aniz

e ri

ght

away

. A

s a

mat

ter

of f

act

by th

at e

veni

ng w

e ha

d al

read

y m

ount

ed a

pic

ket i

n E

vans

ton

infr

ont

of th

e po

lice

stat

ion.

And

fro

m t

here

beg

an a

long

, lon

gpr

oces

s th

at c

ulm

inat

ed,

in p

art,

in th

e re

leas

e of

the

pris

oner

s on

Sept

embe

r 10

, 199

9. T

hat w

ork

had

an in

cred

ible

im

pact

beca

use

we

had

to p

ut a

lot o

f re

sour

ces

into

it a

nd b

uild

it

from

the

grou

nd u

p. T

here

was

not

a lo

t of

supp

ort

for p

eopl

e w

how

ere

bein

g ac

cuse

d of

terr

oris

ts a

nd th

e te

rror

ist

hyst

eria

had

alre

ady

begu

n. I

n 19

81 O

scar

Lop

ez R

iver

a w

as a

rres

ted.

In

1983

Ale

jand

rina

Tor

res,

Edd

ie C

orte

s, a

nd A

lber

to R

odri

guez

wer

e ar

rest

ed.

The

gov

ernm

ent

has

alw

ays

trie

d to

link

me

up to

the

arm

ed s

trug

gle.

T

hey

have

all

thes

e re

sour

ces

yet t

hey

have

neve

r be

en a

ble

to d

o th

at b

ecau

se I

hav

e ne

ver

been

par

t of

the

arm

ed s

trug

gle.

I

have

nev

er b

een

part

of

any

activ

ity th

at c

ould

be c

onsi

dere

d an

act

ivit

y th

at g

oes

beyo

nd th

e bo

unds

of

wha

t Ife

el i

s m

y w

ork

whi

ch is

cre

atin

g co

nsci

ousn

ess

arou

nd w

ork

that

sho

uld

be a

nd is

pro

tect

ed b

y th

e U

.S. C

onst

itutio

n.T

hrou

ghou

t th

e '8

0s w

e w

ent t

hrou

gh a

ver

y di

ffic

ult

peri

od,

alw

ays

tryi

ng t

o or

gani

ze a

nd c

onst

antly

com

bat

the

14

Stud

ents

dem

onst

ratin

g ag

ains

t rac

ist

teac

her

at C

lem

ente

H.S

.

gove

rnm

ent's

atte

mpt

to

set u

sup

. T

he 1

980s

wer

e a

peri

od o

fbu

ildin

g su

ppor

tfo

r th

e po

litic

alpr

ison

ers

and

atte

mpt

ing

toco

ntex

tual

ize

the

char

ges

of w

hich

the

pris

oner

s ha

dbe

en a

ccus

ed.

Inte

rnat

iona

l la

wde

fend

ed t

he r

ight

of th

e Pu

erto

Ric

an p

eopl

e an

d al

l col

oniz

ed p

eopl

e to

rid

them

selv

es o

f a

crim

e ag

ains

t hum

anity

, and

col

onia

lism

has

bee

n de

clar

ed a

crim

e in

Res

olut

ion

1514

of

the

UN

in 1

960.

The

pri

sone

rs h

adta

ken

the

posi

tion

that

they

wer

e pr

ison

ers

of w

ar.

We

felt

that

we

had

to d

efen

d th

at p

osit

ion

and

expl

ain

it to

peo

ple.

We

had

to b

e ab

le to

cre

ate

cons

ciou

snes

s ab

out t

hat p

osit

ion.

So

thro

ugho

ut th

e '8

0s th

at is

wha

t our

wor

k ce

nter

ed o

n. W

e bu

ilt

a m

ovem

ent

and

the

Nat

iona

l Com

mitt

ee to

Fre

e Pu

erto

Ric

anPo

litic

al P

riso

ners

and

Pri

sone

rs o

f War

to e

xpla

in th

eir

posi

tion.

Tow

ards

the

end

of th

e '8

0s a

nd th

e be

ginn

ing

ofth

e'90

s w

e be

gin

to f

eel

the

need

not

onl

y to

go

beyo

nd b

uild

ing

the

Cul

tura

l C

ente

r bu

t to

impa

ct th

e lif

e of

the

com

mun

ity in

abr

oade

r se

nse.

O

ne e

xam

ple

of h

ow w

e di

d th

is w

as o

ur w

ork

arou

nd C

lem

ente

Hig

h Sc

hool

. St

uden

ts a

t Cle

men

te b

egan

tom

obili

ze a

gain

st r

acis

t te

ache

rs a

nd th

e po

or q

ualit

y of

the

educ

atio

n th

ey re

ceiv

ed.

Rep

rese

ntat

ives

of

the

teac

hers

and

stud

ents

cam

e an

d as

ked

us, a

nd o

ther

com

mun

ity g

roup

s, t

o ge

tin

volv

ed.

Som

ewhe

re a

roun

d tw

enty

dif

fere

nt c

omm

unity

orga

niza

tions

, in

clud

ing

chur

ches

, ca

me

toge

ther

to

say

ther

e is

som

ethi

ng r

eally

wro

ng a

t Cle

men

te a

nd s

omet

hing

has

to b

edo

ne.

Out

of

that

situ

atio

n w

e be

gan

to e

valu

ate

our o

wn

rela

tions

hip

to th

e w

ider

com

mun

ity.

We

had

a m

oral

res

pons

i-bi

lity

and

a p

oliti

cal o

blig

atio

n to

get

invo

lved

and

we

did.

15

At t

he s

ame

time

the

wor

ld w

as c

hang

ing.

The

Sov

iet

Uni

on c

hang

ed.

The

wor

ld c

hang

ed.

The

cor

rela

tion

of fo

rces

in th

e w

orld

cha

nged

. G

orba

chev

's Pe

rist

roik

a ra

ised

som

e ve

ryin

tere

stin

g qu

estio

ns o

n th

e in

tern

atio

nal

scen

e ab

out

hum

anri

ghts

vio

latio

ns a

nd w

e un

ders

tood

that

a s

umm

it on

hum

anri

ghts

was

bei

ng c

alle

d (th

is w

as th

e tim

e of

the

Hel

sink

i ag

ree-

men

t) a

nd it

was

the

peri

od o

f al

l thi

s ta

lk a

bout

hum

an ri

ghts

inth

e w

orld

. W

e kn

ew w

e co

uld

play

a ro

le in

exp

osin

g th

evi

olat

ions

of

hum

an r

ight

s in

the

US.

In

1991

we

help

ed to

orga

nize

the

first

tri

buna

l aro

und

the

issu

e of

pol

itica

l pr

ison

ers

in th

e U

S. W

e br

ough

t exp

erts

fro

m m

any

part

s of

the

wor

ld a

ndw

ere

a pa

rt o

f cre

atin

g a

mov

emen

t cal

led

Free

dom

Now

! whi

chw

as th

e fir

st m

ajor

atte

mpt

in m

any

year

s to

bri

ng to

geth

er th

eis

sue

of p

oliti

cal p

rison

ers

acro

ss t

his

coun

try, f

rom

the

Nat

ive

Am

eric

ans

to w

hite

ant

i-im

peri

alis

ts to

Chr

istia

n pa

cifi

sts

tope

ople

in th

e B

lack

libe

ratio

n st

rugg

le, t

o ra

ise

cons

ciou

snes

sar

ound

the

issu

e of

pol

itica

l pri

sone

rs in

the

U.S

By

the

end

of 1

992

we

star

ted

to re

ally

foc

us o

n th

ePu

erto

Ric

an p

oliti

cal p

riso

ners

muc

h m

ore

than

bui

ldin

g th

ebr

oad

base

d m

ovem

ent,

even

as

we

wer

e bu

ildin

g th

e O

ctob

er12

, 199

2, e

vent

s [5

00 y

ears

of

colo

nial

ism

]. W

e w

ere

faci

ng a

lot o

f in

tern

al d

isse

nsio

n w

ithin

the

coal

ition

we

wer

e tr

ying

topu

t tog

ethe

r. T

here

wer

e a

lot o

f pos

itive

thin

gs th

at c

ame

out o

fbo

th tr

ibun

als.

B

ut w

e co

nclu

ded

that

we

had

put t

oo m

uch

emph

asis

on

build

ing

the

broa

der

mov

emen

t an

d no

t eno

ugh

onth

e Pu

erto

Ric

an p

oliti

cal p

riso

ners

. So

in 1

992

we

deci

ded

totu

rn o

ur a

ttent

ion

to th

e Pu

erto

Ric

an p

oliti

cal p

riso

ners

and

inPu

erto

Ric

o O

fens

iva

1992

was

bui

lt.A

lso

in 1

992

a bo

mbi

ng to

ok p

lace

her

e in

Chi

cago

, and

was

cla

imed

by

a Pu

erto

Ric

an g

roup

that

alle

gedt

o be

a c

land

es-

tine

orga

niza

tion.

I p

ublic

ly c

onde

mne

d th

e bo

mbi

ng w

hich

, not

coin

cide

ntal

ly, w

as d

one

the

nigh

t bef

ore

we

wer

e ho

ldin

g a

publ

ic e

vent

to a

nnou

nce

som

e of

the

chan

ges

and

the

new

idea

sth

at w

ere

goin

g to

take

pla

ce in

the

cam

paig

n to

free

the

pol

itica

lpr

ison

ers.

It w

as D

ecem

ber

10th

, Hum

an R

ight

s D

ay, a

nd w

eha

d an

eve

nt a

nd a

ll of

a s

udde

n ne

ws

appe

ared

in th

e m

edia

that

a bo

mbi

ng h

ad ta

ken

plac

e. W

e co

ndem

ned

it as

an

actio

n of

the

FBI

or o

f an

age

nt p

rovo

cate

ur a

nd h

ave

sust

aine

d th

at p

ositi

on

16

ever

sin

ce.

We

belie

ve m

ore

than

eve

r th

at it

was

the

wor

k of

Raf

ael

Mar

rero

, wor

king

as

an a

gent

pro

voca

teur

, to

try

and

dism

antle

, der

ail a

nd d

estr

oy th

e w

ork

that

we

wer

e do

ing.

The

reas

on s

o m

any

atta

cks

have

foc

used

on

me

is th

atdu

ring

all

thes

e ye

ars

I hav

e ta

ken

som

e st

rong

pos

ition

s op

enly

and

have

don

e w

ork

that

has

hel

ped

to c

reat

e a

mov

emen

t tha

tha

s be

com

e ef

fect

ive.

T

his

mov

emen

t ha

s to

uche

d th

e liv

es o

fm

any

peop

le a

nd it

insp

ires

peo

ple

to d

o a

lot o

f di

ffer

ent

type

sof

wor

k. O

ver t

he y

ears

as

a te

ache

r an

d as

an

activ

ist

I hav

ehe

lped

peo

ple

form

ulat

e id

eas

abou

t th

e Pu

erto

Ric

an r

ealit

y an

din

som

e ca

ses

I can

look

at p

eopl

e w

ho h

ave

been

my

stud

ents

and

they

hav

e be

com

e in

flue

ntia

l pol

icy

mak

ers.

T

here

is

an•_

id

ea o

n th

e pa

rt o

f th

eFB

I an

d se

ctor

s of

the

"O

ver

the

years

we

hav

e re

pres

sive

so-

calle

d law

wag

ed v

ery

effe

ctiv

e ca

m-

enfo

rcem

ent a

genc

ies

paig

ns.

.. M

any

peop

le d

id n

ot

that

som

ehow

by

belie

ve th

at t

he N

atio

nalis

ts

atta

ckin

g m

e tha

t the

y,,

,

, j

T,,

can

atta

ck a

nd

sty

mie

wou

ld b

e re

leas

ed.

The

sam

e .

, *

the

wor

k w

e do

. Th

eth

ing

happ

ened

with

th

e att

acks

dir

ecte

d a

gain

st

Mex

ican

gov

ern

men

t's

rele

ase

me a

re d

ue to

the

of

Wil

liam

Mor

ales

. A

lot

of

effe

ctiv

enes

s of

the

wor

kpe

ople

tol

d u

s tha

t thi

s w

as

that

l h

av

e b

een

in-

impo

ssib

le.

We

hav

e m

ade

the

vo

lved

in

Over th

e...

. ,

i •

year

s w

e ha

ve w

aged

impo

ssib

le h

appe

n an

d th

at i

s y

ery

eff

ecti

ye c

am

why

we

hav

e be

en u

nde

r th

ese

paig

ns

They

hav

e b

een

incr

edib

le a

ttac

ks."

so

succ

essf

ul, e

spec

ially

==

^==

==

==

^^=

==

==

==

==

gi

ven

that

man

y pe

ople

neve

r be

lieve

d th

empo

ssib

le.

Man

y pe

ople

did

not

bel

ieve

that

the

Nat

iona

lists

wou

ld b

e re

leas

ed.

The

sam

e th

ing

happ

ened

with

the

Mex

ican

gove

rnm

ent's

rel

ease

of

Will

iam

Mor

ales

. A

lot o

f peo

ple

told

us th

at th

is w

as i

mpo

ssib

le.

We

have

mad

e th

e im

poss

ible

happ

en a

nd th

at is

why

we

have

bee

n un

der

thes

e in

cred

ible

atta

cks.

17

The

se a

ttack

s ha

ve ta

ken

thei

r tol

l. It

is d

iffi

cult

toun

ders

tand

how

muc

h th

ese

atta

cks

real

ly im

pact

on

one'

s sp

irit

and

hum

anity

. W

e ha

ve b

een

unde

r at

tack

rele

ntle

ssly

and

hav

ebe

en p

ut o

n tr

ial a

t lea

st h

alf

a do

zen

times

by

the

med

ia.

Whe

nw

e go

bac

k th

roug

h th

e '7

0, th

e '8

0s, a

nd th

e '9

0s, w

e se

e th

atth

ere

has

neve

r be

en a

per

iod

whe

n w

e ha

ve n

ot b

een

put o

n tr

ial

by th

e m

edia

. The

ir u

ltim

ate

goal

was

to d

erai

l th

e ca

mpa

ign

tofr

ee t

he p

riso

ners

. T

he f

act

that

the

righ

t win

g an

d th

e FB

Im

ount

ed th

eir

atta

cks

afte

r th

e re

leas

e of

the

pris

oner

s in

Sep

-te

mbe

r, 19

99 il

lust

rate

s ho

w s

ucce

ssfu

l th

e w

ork

has

been

. In

actu

al f

act w

e w

on th

e he

arts

and

min

ds o

f m

any

peop

le, i

nclu

d-in

g pe

ople

in

the

high

est

leve

ls o

f th

e U

.S. g

over

nmen

t, w

ho f

elt

a se

nse

of ju

stic

e th

at s

ome

thin

gs h

ad to

be

done

to r

ight

this

wro

ng [

the

leng

thy

inca

rcer

atio

n of

the

Puer

to R

ican

pol

itica

lpr

ison

ers]

.A

s pa

rt o

f th

ese

horr

ible

atta

cks

for

near

ly th

ree

year

s E

lP

ito w

as p

ut o

ut o

n th

e st

reet

s, p

rint

ing

all k

inds

of

innu

endo

esab

out m

y lif

e an

d ou

r w

ork

and

accu

sing

me

of b

eing

a c

ult

lead

er.

The

se a

ttack

s do

hav

e an

impa

ct.

Whe

n m

y da

ught

ers

firs

t saw

El P

ito t

hey

crie

d. T

o se

e yo

ur d

augh

ters

cry

is v

ery

hard

. E

ven

thou

gh t

hey

knew

that

wha

t was

wri

tten

was

lies

,th

ey w

ere

spre

ad p

ublic

ly!

Whe

n m

y da

ught

er w

ent w

ith m

e to

the

hear

ings

tha

t wer

e m

ount

ed b

y th

e st

ate

legi

slat

ure

arou

ndC

lem

ente

I w

as p

ut o

n tr

ial f

or h

ours

and

acc

used

of t

hing

s th

atw

ere

not t

rue.

The

re w

as n

ot a

n in

klin

g of

trut

h to

the

accu

sa-

tions

. I

sat w

ith m

y da

ught

er h

oldi

ng o

nto

my

hand

and

feel

ing

so h

orri

ble.

At t

hat p

oint

I fe

lt I w

ould

be

exon

erat

ed,

but f

or h

erit

is n

ot th

e sa

me

feel

ing.

Her

fat

her

was

bei

ng a

ccus

ed o

f th

ese

lies.

The

se a

re th

e th

ings

that

are

har

d to

exp

lain

to p

eopl

e. I

t is

diff

icul

t to

exp

lain

how

dif

ficu

lt it

has

been

for

my

sist

ers.

How

muc

h th

ey h

ave

had

to s

uffe

r! A

t the

sam

e tim

e as

thes

e at

tack

sw

ere

taki

ng p

lace

we

wen

t th

roug

h a

diff

icul

t fa

mily

situ

atio

nbe

caus

e m

y m

othe

r w

as s

uffe

ring

fro

m A

lzhe

imer

's, a

t the

sam

eth

at a

ll th

is g

arba

ge w

as b

eing

thr

own

at u

s. T

he f

act

that

we

wer

e ab

le to

sur

vive

this

say

s a

lot,

not a

bout

me

but a

bout

the

mov

emen

t we

have

bee

n ab

le to

bui

ld a

nd th

e ki

nd o

f fa

mily

tha

tI

have

bee

n pr

ivile

ged

to h

ave.

M

y en

tire

fam

ily h

as b

een

ther

eth

roug

h th

e m

ost

horr

ible

mom

ents

. It

spe

aks

abou

t the

vis

ibili

ty

18

of o

ur in

cred

ible

wor

k th

at w

e ha

ve d

one

to p

rodu

ce p

eopl

e in

this

wor

k w

ho, u

nder

ver

y di

ffic

ult

situ

atio

ns,

have

con

tinue

d to

mai

ntai

n th

e ch

ildca

re c

ente

r, th

e hi

gh s

choo

l, th

e vi

sibl

y of

our

com

mun

ity w

ork,

and

the

fam

ily le

arni

ng c

ente

r. Fo

r tw

enty

-tw

o ye

ars

we

have

spo

nsor

ed a

peo

ple'

s pa

rade

. Fo

r si

x ye

ars

we

have

org

aniz

ed F

iest

a B

oric

ua.

Dur

ing

this

per

iod

we

have

crea

ted

new

inst

itutio

ns,

such

as

VID

A/S

IDA

, the

Mus

eum

, an

dth

e C

asita

. If y

ou lo

ok a

t the

life

of t

his

com

mun

ity,

the

mon

u-m

ents

, th

e fl

ags,

Pas

eo B

oric

ua,

they

all

spea

k to

the

resi

lienc

eof

thos

e pe

ople

who

hav

e ca

rrie

d ou

t the

wor

k th

at g

oes

beyo

ndm

e. I

t is

a tr

ibut

e to

them

.W

e [th

e Pu

erto

Ric

an in

depe

nden

ce m

ovem

ent]

hav

e a

hist

ory

of s

acri

fice

s, a

his

tory

of

com

mitm

ent,

a hi

stor

y of

bei

ngre

silie

nt.

We

have

bee

n so

res

ilien

tth

at th

e di

scou

rse

of P

uert

o R

ico

isth

e di

scou

rse

of th

e In

depe

nden

cem

ovem

ent.

Tak

e, f

or e

xam

ple,

the

case

of V

iequ

es,

and

that

of

the

pris

oner

s. T

he g

over

nor

of P

uert

oR

ico,

a s

tate

hood

er, w

ent t

o th

eU

nite

d N

atio

ns in

Jul

y of

this

yea

ran

d sa

id th

at th

e U

N s

houl

din

terv

ene

in th

e ca

se o

f Pue

rto

Ric

obe

caus

e Pu

erto

Ric

o is

a c

olon

y of

the

Uni

ted

Stat

es a

nd it

sho

uld

bepu

t bac

k on

the

list o

f no

n-go

vern

-in

g te

rrito

ries

. T

he P

uert

o R

ican

Inde

pend

ence

mov

emen

t has

bee

nst

rugg

ling

for

this

sin

ce 1

972,

so

here

we

are

at th

e en

d of

the

20th

cent

ury

and

the

begi

nnin

g of

the

21st

cen

tury

and

we

are

begi

nnin

gto

see

that

we

have

won

the

bat

tle in

term

s of

the

polit

ical

dis

cour

se in

Puer

to R

ico.

We

are

in a

dif

fere

nt p

oliti

cal

peri

od f

rom

tha

t of

1974

or

'75,

beca

use

muc

h of

the

wor

k th

at w

as 19

done

mea

nt th

at th

e Pu

erto

Ric

an p

eopl

e ha

ve g

aine

d a

polit

ical

cons

ciou

snes

s.

Not

onl

y di

d th

ey m

assi

vely

wel

com

e th

epr

ison

ers,

but

als

o th

ere

is a

lso

wid

espr

ead

supp

ort

for

the

U.S

.N

avy

to a

band

on V

iequ

es.

Thi

s ha

s un

ifie

d th

e Pu

erto

Ric

anm

ovem

ent.

One

ver

y in

tere

stin

g ob

serv

atio

n is

the

figh

t of

Tri

nida

d an

d L

aHoy

a. W

hen

Tri

nida

d ar

rive

d in

Pue

rto

Ric

o, h

ew

as w

elco

med

by

thou

sand

s of

peo

ple,

wav

ing

only

the

Puer

toR

ican

fla

g. W

hat w

ere

they

say

ing?

It's

not

so

muc

h w

heth

erPu

erto

Ric

ans

belie

ve b

oxin

g is

goo

d, b

ut T

rini

dad

beca

me

ana

tiona

l sy

mbo

l. H

e ha

d a

little

sig

n th

at h

e to

ok in

the

ring

and

to P

uert

o R

ico

that

sai

d "P

eace

for

Vie

ques

."

How

man

y bo

xing

figu

res

in th

e w

orld

, bes

ides

Moh

amm

ad A

li, w

ould

com

e ou

tm

akin

g a

polit

ical

sta

tem

ent?

W

hen

we

look

at t

his

peri

od,

we

can

see

that

we

are

livin

g in

an

exci

ting

peri

od o

f Pu

erto

Ric

anaf

firm

atio

n.

My

Self

-Eva

luat

ion

My

polit

ical

wor

k ha

s im

pact

ed p

ositi

vely

and

neg

a-tiv

ely

on m

y w

hole

life

exp

erie

nce.

I

give

a lo

t of

time

and

ener

gy in

to b

uild

ing

the

polit

ical

wor

k w

e ha

ve b

een

invo

lved

in.

In th

at r

espe

ct,

my

pers

onal

lif

e an

d pa

rtic

ular

ly m

y da

ught

ers

have

got

ten

the

shor

t en

d of

the

stic

k in

term

s of

my

time

and

wha

t I c

ould

hav

e do

ne w

ith th

em a

s a

fath

er.

Thi

s is

not

to s

ayth

at o

ver

the

year

s th

ey h

ave

not u

nder

stoo

d m

y w

ork.

The

yha

ve a

nd th

ey h

ave

supp

orte

d it.

I a

m e

xtre

mel

y pr

oud

of b

oth

of th

em.

I hav

e tw

o da

ught

ers,

Lol

ita T

aina

, who

is

nam

ed a

fter

Lol

ita L

ebro

n an

d M

aria

And

rea,

the

olde

st, w

ho w

as b

orn

Janu

ary

11,

1974

. Bot

h of

them

are

ext

rem

ely

brig

ht.

I am

rea

llypr

ivile

ged

to h

ave

them

gro

w u

p w

ith

such

an

incr

edib

le s

ense

of

them

selv

es.

My

mot

her

had

a gr

eat

deal

to d

o w

ith th

eir

view

of

them

selv

es.

The

ir m

othe

r has

don

e a

won

derf

ul jo

b of

rai

sing

them

. I c

anno

t cl

aim

the

sam

e cr

edit

beca

use

I was

not

aro

und

thei

r liv

es a

s m

uch.

All

that

a p

aren

t ca

n do

is to

ori

ent

a ch

ild in

such

a w

ay th

at th

e ch

ild c

an s

hape

his

or

her

own

wor

ld.

I th

ink

that

's w

hat h

appe

ned

with

my

daug

hter

s.

I tri

ed t

o he

lp i

n te

rms

of th

inki

ng a

nd re

thin

king

the

wor

ld.

In th

e fu

ture

, bot

h of

the

mw

ill m

ake

good

con

trib

utio

ns t

o im

prov

ing

the

wor

ld.

Bot

h of

20

them

hav

e ch

osen

fie

lds

that

are

abo

ut p

eopl

e an

d ab

out

serv

ing

peop

le.

The

y ch

ose

this

out

of

thei

r ow

n lif

e ex

peri

ence

s.

I am

extr

emel

y ha

ppy

with

the

m.

In te

rms

of w

eakn

esse

s it

is v

ery

diff

icul

t to

det

ach

ours

elve

s fr

om w

ho w

e ar

e bu

t ove

r man

y ye

ars

I ca

n lo

ok b

ack

at th

e st

rugg

les

we

have

had

. I h

ave

not b

een

as u

nder

stan

ding

as I

cou

ld h

ave

been

of

diff

eren

t si

tuat

ions

and

dif

fere

nt p

eopl

e.So

met

imes

I h

ave

been

ver

y ha

rsh

on p

eopl

e w

ho d

id n

ot n

eed

that

type

of

hars

hnes

s. I

n th

e he

at o

f st

rugg

le y

ou s

ay th

ings

and

do th

ings

that

you

regr

et.

In te

rms

of m

y da

ught

ers

I co

uld

have

been

a b

ette

r fa

ther

. A

t tim

es, t

hey

need

ed m

e an

d I w

asn'

t th

ere

for

them

. In

the

proc

ess

you

do h

urt p

eopl

e th

at y

ou lo

ve a

ndyo

u li

ve w

ith

that

for

the

rest

of

your

life

as

part

of

your

con

-sc

ienc

e.

I co

uld

have

bee

n m

ore

unde

rsta

ndin

g. I

cou

ld h

ave

been

a b

ette

r fa

ther

. I

coul

d ha

ve d

one

thin

gs in

term

s of

my

own

pers

onal

gro

wth

and

dev

elop

men

t suc

h as

fin

ishi

ng m

ydi

sser

tatio

n.M

y bi

gges

t per

sona

l str

engt

h is

res

ilien

ce a

nd th

at c

omes

acro

ss fr

om t

he e

xam

ple

of m

y m

othe

r. W

e co

me

a fu

ll ci

rcle

here

in

term

s of

my

life

as m

y m

othe

r tau

ght u

s to

fac

e ad

vers

ityhe

ad o

n, w

ith c

oura

ge.

To

tran

sfor

m d

efea

ts i

nto

vict

ory,

tom

ake

out o

f th

e w

orse

mom

ents

the

best

mom

ents

we

can.

Ikn

ow h

ow m

uch

my

mot

her s

uffe

red

as a

n ab

used

wom

an a

t the

hand

s of

my

fath

er a

nd h

er i

n-la

ws.

I k

now

how

muc

h m

ym

othe

r su

ffer

ed r

aisi

ng u

s by

her

self

. I k

now

how

muc

h m

ym

othe

r su

ffer

ed b

y liv

ing

in a

hos

tile

soc

iety

she

did

not

und

er-

stan

d. A

ll th

ose

thin

gs s

he c

onfr

onte

d.

The

y ne

ver

stop

ped

her.

She

cont

inue

d an

d sh

e kn

ew w

hat s

he w

ante

d w

hich

was

to r

aise

us to

be

the

best

hum

an b

eing

s po

ssib

le.

I thi

nk s

he d

id a

gre

atjo

b. T

hat i

s w

hat I

inhe

rite

d fr

om h

er a

nd th

at is

my

stre

ngth

.Pa

rt o

f be

ing

resi

lient

com

es f

rom

the

ide

a th

at a

t eve

ry tu

rn y

oual

way

s ha

ve th

e se

nse

of h

ope.

In

the

mid

st o

f a

cris

is y

ou c

anal

way

s ha

ve h

ope.

If y

ou lo

ok a

t the

wor

d "r

efor

mis

t" i

n th

e co

ntex

t of

itsor

igin

al i

dea,

to r

efor

m, I

thin

k I

am o

ne.

In o

ther

wor

ds,

tore

shap

e th

e w

orld

, to

resh

ape

your

thin

king

, to

reth

ink

the

wor

ld.

If it

mea

ns t

hat y

ou a

re a

sel

lout

, th

at y

ou s

ell o

ut y

our

prin

cipl

esan

d st

oop

to th

e po

int t

hat y

ou b

ecom

e a

slav

e to

som

eone

, the

n 21

that

is

not

me.

We

have

cha

nged

. T

here

is

no d

oubt

abo

ut i

t. I

have

cha

nged

in a

num

ber

of o

ccas

ions

in

my

life.

At p

oint

s yo

ulo

ok a

t a p

robl

em a

nd s

ay w

hat i

s th

e so

lutio

n. C

onst

antly

Ire

form

ulat

e. B

ut o

ften

we

look

at

solu

tions

in th

e co

ntex

t of

boxe

s.

We

mov

e fr

om o

ne b

ox to

ano

ther

and

we

enca

se o

ur-

selv

es.

One

of

the

best

way

s to

loo

k at

pro

blem

sol

ving

is to

see

that

a p

robl

em h

as m

any

solu

tions

. W

hat i

s th

e be

st s

olut

ion?

My

Vis

ion

for

the

Fut

ure

I ha

ve a

lway

s be

lieve

d in

Pue

rto

Ric

an in

depe

nden

ce.

At

one

poin

t I b

elie

ved

that

Pue

rto

Ric

an in

depe

nden

ce w

as a

mat

ter

of b

eing

abl

e to

art

icul

ate

a go

od a

rgum

ent i

n th

is d

emoc

-ra

cy. A

t an

othe

r tim

e I t

houg

ht th

at w

e m

ust b

e m

uch

mor

era

dica

l in

our

app

roac

h an

d ex

pose

colo

nial

ism

for

wha

t it

is a

nd t

o ca

llth

e U

S by

its

nam

e as

an

empi

re.

Ibe

liev

e th

at P

uert

o R

ico

need

s ara

dica

l cha

nge.

I d

on't

know

wha

t Iw

ould

hav

e sa

id tw

enty

yea

rs a

go. D

oyo

u ne

ed to

bui

ld a

n ec

onom

y ba

sed

on s

ocia

list

idea

ls?

Do

you

crea

te a

tota

lly c

entr

aliz

ed s

ocie

ty?

We

are

begi

nnin

g to

ret

hink

a lo

t of

conc

epts

abo

ut w

hat k

ind

of ju

stso

ciet

y w

e w

ant.

I wan

t to

be a

par

t of

a jus

t so

ciet

y in

whi

chth

ere

is e

qual

ity b

ut th

ere

is a

lso

a gr

eat d

eal

of f

reed

om.

Ibe

lieve

that

col

lect

ive

and

indi

vidu

al f

reed

om is

the

only

way

for

hum

an b

eing

s to

gro

w a

nd d

evel

op.

In o

ther

wor

ds, w

e do

n't

exis

t in

the

wor

ld, w

e ex

ist w

ith th

e w

orld

. W

ith th

e w

orld

mea

ns I

hav

e a

cons

ciou

snes

s th

at n

ot o

nly

I ex

ist,

othe

r th

ings

also

exi

st b

ut n

eith

er m

ind

nor

cons

ciou

snes

s ha

ve a

ny l

imits

.T

here

fore

we

are

the

only

spe

cies

cap

able

of

enga

ging

hi t

heex

erci

se o

f fr

eedo

m.

We

have

an

incr

edib

le r

espo

nsib

ility

whi

chis

bor

n ou

t of

ethi

cs th

at b

ring

s us

to a

ver

y im

port

ant p

oint

.H

ow d

o w

e de

al w

ith

the

wor

ld a

bout

us?

How

are

we

resp

on-

sibl

e fo

r th

e w

orld

abo

ut u

s? I

thin

k fr

eedo

m, e

thic

s, c

omm

u-ni

ty, a

nd e

qual

ity a

re a

ll in

ter-

rela

ted

beca

use

you

cann

ot e

ngag

ein

true

fre

edom

if a

ny m

embe

r of

our

spe

cies

is d

epri

ved

of

22

free

dom

. If

we

depr

ive

any

hum

an b

eing

of

any

poss

ibili

ties

ofen

gagi

ng i

n fr

eedo

m th

en th

at h

uman

bei

ng d

oes

not

exis

t in

asi

tuat

ion

of e

qual

ity.

The

ver

y id

ea o

f ed

ucat

ion,

the

very

idea

of

enga

ging

inth

e cr

eatio

n of

tech

nolo

gy,

in th

e cr

eatio

n of

the

wor

ld h

as b

een

limite

d to

a f

ew a

t the

exp

ense

of

the

man

y an

d th

e m

any

are

depr

ived

and

mar

gina

lized

fro

m p

arta

king

in th

e bu

ildin

g of

abe

tter

wor

ld.

I th

ink

that

civ

iliza

tion

has,

thro

ugh

its v

ario

usst

ages

, bee

n ba

sed

on th

e id

ea th

at y

ou d

eny

som

e pe

ople

the

righ

t to

com

mun

ity.

In th

e pr

oces

s on

e gr

oup

of p

eopl

e do

mi-

nate

s an

othe

r an

d de

nies

a g

roup

of

peop

le i

ts r

ight

s. Y

ou h

ave

take

n th

em o

ut o

f hi

stor

y an

d yo

u de

ny th

em t

heir

rig

ht to

be

fully

dig

nifi

ed h

uman

bei

ngs.

You

hav

e cr

eate

d a

subj

ect/

obje

ctre

latio

nshi

p. I

n th

e la

st 5

00 y

ears

or

so in

divi

dual

ism

has

be-

com

e so

muc

h a

part

of

the

mod

ern

wor

ld b

egin

ning

with

Lut

her's

teac

hing

s th

at s

alva

tion

itsel

f is

an

indi

vidu

al a

ct, a

ll th

ew

ay to

this

Yup

pie

ideo

logy

tha

t wha

t m

atte

rs i

s ho

w m

uch

Im

ake

a la

Bill

Gat

es ty

pe o

f pe

rson

ality

. We

have

cre

ated

sel

fish

-ne

ss in

to a

vir

tue.

I th

ink,

as

Eri

c Fr

omm

sta

ted

very

wel

l, th

atth

e vo

catio

n of

the

hum

an b

eing

is to

be

hum

an.

The

n if

my

voca

tion

is to

be

hum

an, w

hat

is it

to b

e hu

man

? I b

elie

ve t

o be

hum

an is

to b

e ab

le to

eng

age

in th

e ex

erci

se o

f fr

eedo

m.

By

free

dom

I m

ean

unde

rsta

ndin

g th

e w

orld

abo

ut m

e, a

ctin

gre

spon

sibl

y up

on th

e w

orld

, an

d m

ost

impo

rtan

tly tr

ansf

orm

ing

that

wor

ld.

If th

at is

wha

t fr

eedo

m m

eans

, an

d th

at is

wha

t it

mea

ns t

o m

e, th

en I

hav

e a

resp

onsi

bilit

y no

t onl

y to

my

fello

whu

man

bei

ngs

but t

o al

l liv

ing

and

nonl

ivin

g th

ings

in th

e w

orld

.I

have

an

awes

ome

resp

onsi

bilit

y to

ens

ure

that

the

ecos

yste

ms

of th

e w

orld

, tha

t the

flo

ra a

nd th

e fa

una

of th

e w

orld

, rea

llyex

ist

and

that

I a

m n

ot a

par

t of

dest

royi

ng t

hose

thin

gs.

I nee

dto

be

a pa

rt o

f bui

ldin

g an

d en

hanc

ing

thos

e th

ings

.I

belie

ve th

e 21

st c

entu

ry c

alls

upo

n us

to e

ngag

e in

the

polit

ics

of h

uman

righ

ts.

Tha

t mea

ns w

e ha

ve to

und

erst

and

that

the

last

700

0 ye

ars

have

bee

n a

stru

ggle

for

fre

edom

, equ

ality

,an

d co

mm

unity

. It

mea

ns h

ow d

o yo

u tie

thes

e th

ree

thin

gsto

geth

er th

roug

h an

eth

ics

of r

espo

nsib

ility

to e

ach

othe

r and

for

the

wor

ld th

at w

e liv

e in

. If

we

star

t to

look

at t

hing

s fr

om th

atva

ntag

e po

int t

he n

ext p

erio

d in

his

tory

is g

oing

to b

e an

exc

itin

gpe

riod

for

hum

an b

eing

s an

d fo

r th

e hu

man

con

diti

on/5

^"

^ -3

Yak

i

One

can

't th

ink

of J

ose

Lop

ez w

ithou

t bri

ngin

g to

min

dth

e st

rugg

les

for t

he in

depe

nden

ce o

f Pue

rto

Ric

o an

d th

e re

leas

eof

the

Puer

to R

ican

Pol

itica

l Pri

sone

rs a

nd P

riso

ners

of W

ar.

Jose

has

bee

n at

the

cent

er o

f th

ese

stru

ggle

s, e

xpen

ding

wha

tse

ems

tirel

ess,

sur

ely

unse

lfis

h in

telle

ctua

l and

phy

sica

l ene

rgy

in th

e ef

fort

to r

ealiz

e th

ese

goal

s.A

ny m

entio

n of

the

nam

e of

Jos

e L

opez

als

o ha

s to

be

acco

mpa

nied

.by

a lis

t of

acco

mpl

ishm

ents

in

the

cour

se o

fde

velo

ping

uni

ty, c

onsc

ious

ness

, an

d in

stitu

tions

in th

e Pu

erto

Ric

an c

omm

uniti

es o

f C

hica

go a

nd e

lsew

here

.M

oreo

ver,

Jose

has

wor

ked

to c

reat

e un

ity a

nd to

rais

eth

e co

nsci

ousn

ess

of a

ll pe

ople

s in

this

city

, and

the

inst

itutio

nshe

's he

lped

to b

uild

hav

e op

ened

thei

r do

ors

and

exte

nded

the

irse

rvic

es to

any

one

in n

eed.

Jos

e L

opez

is k

now

n, li

tera

lly,

thro

ugho

ut th

e U

.S. a

nd th

e w

orld

, as

a st

eadf

ast

sold

ier,

figh

ting

in s

olid

arity

with

oth

er p

eopl

es s

imila

rly

oppr

esse

d an

d ex

ploi

ted

by th

e U

.S. c

apita

list-

impe

rial

ist

stat

e.I

know

Jos

e L

opez

as

a co

mra

de—

som

eone

with

who

mI

shar

e a

polit

ical

eng

agem

ent,

and

som

eone

that

I c

an d

epen

dup

on to

wat

ch m

y ba

ck a

nd to

shi

eld

me

from

any

atta

cks.

How

coul

d I

do a

ny le

ss, k

now

ing

that

Jos

e L

opez

is u

nder

atta

ck?

Jose

Lop

ez n

eeds

all

of u

s to

wat

ch h

is b

ack,

to

shie

ldhi

m f

rom

the

blo

ws

of U

.S.

inju

stic

e— c

an a

ny o

f us

do a

nyle

ss?

Yak

i .

Spea

r an

d Sh

ield

Pub

licat

ions

1340

Wes

t Irv

ing

Park

, Sui

te 1

08C

hica

go, I

L 6

0613

24

jVla

rta

Rod

rigu

ezO

ctob

er 2

6, 1

999

I th

ough

t tha

t bei

ng in

Bos

ton,

hun

dred

s of

mile

s fr

omC

hica

go w

ould

ena

ble

me

to e

scap

e yo

u, J

ose

Lop

ez,

but a

ppar

-en

tly th

at w

as n

ot to

be.

Don

't as

k m

e ho

w, b

ut A

leja

ndro

trac

ked

me

dow

n an

d to

ld m

e ab

out

your

upc

omin

g tr

ibut

e. I

grud

ging

ly a

dmit

that

I'm

gla

d I'm

abl

e to

par

take

of

this

alb

eit

via

EM

ail. One

of

the

thin

gs th

at I

rem

embe

r th

e m

ost a

bout

you

isho

w y

ou c

ould

do

so m

uch

with

ver

y lit

tle.

Tha

t aff

ecte

d m

em

ost p

erso

nally

as

I was

you

r st

uden

t at

a ti

me

whe

n th

e hi

ghsc

hool

cou

ld b

arel

y cl

aim

to h

ave

a ro

of o

ver

its h

ead.

Yet

the

lack

of b

raill

e eq

uipm

ent,

tech

niqu

es in

teac

hing

the

blin

d or

brai

lle te

xts

did

not g

et in

the

way

of

your

mee

ting

my

need

s as

ast

uden

t. It

took

som

e cr

eativ

e pl

anni

ng a

nd c

onsi

dera

ble

time

expe

nditu

re.

(I r

emem

ber

all t

hose

hou

rs y

ou s

pent

dic

tatin

g to

me

the

text

s yo

u as

sign

ed, o

r go

ing

over

not

es o

f yo

ur le

ctur

es in

clas

s so

that

I c

ould

bra

ille

them

to s

tudy

late

r.) N

ow th

ere

are

grea

ter

tech

nolo

gica

l res

ourc

es a

t our

dis

posa

l. Y

et m

ost t

each

-er

s or

em

ploy

ers

wou

ld d

row

n in

the

prov

erbi

al s

pot

of w

ater

shou

ld th

ey h

ave

to p

lan

for

the

incl

usio

n of

a d

isab

led

stud

ent o

rem

ploy

ee.

Thi

s le

sson

has

ser

ved

me

wel

l in

my

effo

rts t

ose

cure

wor

k or

nee

ded

trai

ning

. W

hen

som

eone

say

s "W

e do

n't

have

the

reso

urce

s."

I oft

en t

reat

them

to th

is s

tory

.A

s I

was

list

enin

g to

som

eone

rel

ate

to m

e th

eir

fear

sab

out m

y tr

avel

ing

alon

e, g

ettin

g ar

ound

sta

irs,

and

so

on, I

sudd

enly

rem

embe

red

an o

ccas

ion

whe

re y

ou a

nd I

wer

e ag

gra-

vatin

g ea

ch o

ther

, for

a c

hang

e, (

grin

) an

d yo

u sa

id -

as

if r

ealiz

-in

g it

for

the

firs

t tim

e -

"I o

ften

for

get y

our

blin

d."

Wou

ld th

atev

eryo

ne e

lse

coul

d do

the

sam

e.

Gra

nted

, I w

ish

you

had

rem

embe

red

that

tun

e w

e w

ere

lade

ned

with

sui

t cas

es r

unni

ngup

esc

alat

ors

to c

atch

tha

t pla

ne t

o Sa

n Fr

anci

sco.

(G

rin.

) It

wou

ld h

ave

save

d m

e a

pret

ty p

enny

on

the

insu

ranc

e po

licy

Ila

ter

got i

n or

der

to w

alk

with

you

, (la

ugh)

but

mor

e of

ten

than

not I

'm t

hank

ful

for

your

bfor

getf

ulne

ss.

It m

eant

that

you

25

trus

ted

my

abili

ty to

det

erm

ineb

wha

t I c

ould

and

cou

ld n

ot d

o.In

the

shor

t tim

e th

at I

was

aro

und

the

cultu

ral C

ente

r an

d th

eva

riou

s pr

ojec

ts it

sup

porte

d, i

t was

this

atti

tude

whi

ch m

ade

itpo

ssib

le f

or m

e to

do

my

wor

k.T

he P

uert

o R

ican

Com

mun

ity o

f C

hica

go h

as g

one

thro

ugh

a lo

t of

chan

ges

sinc

e th

e da

ys o

f the

fig

hts

at T

uley

Hig

h Sc

hool

. Y

our h

ard

wor

k is

resp

onsi

ble

for

man

y of

the

self

dire

ctin

g in

stitu

tions

tha

t now

gra

ce th

is c

omm

unity

. Su

ch w

ork

was

dif

ficu

lt at

bes

t giv

en th

e od

ds y

ou f

aced

, bu

t you

hun

g in

ther

e an

d a

lot o

f peo

ple

are

bette

r of

f fo

r it.

I'm s

ure

ther

e ar

e m

any

who

se li

ves

have

in s

ome

way

sch

ange

d fo

r the

bet

ter

beca

use

they

had

you

as

a fr

iend

or

teac

her.

I'm g

lad

you'

ll h

ave

the

oppo

rtun

ity t

o kn

ow it

: E

njoy

your

wel

l des

erve

d ce

lebr

atio

n.

May

you

live

ver

y lo

ng a

nd p

rosp

er.

Mar

ta R

odri

guez Ala

n B

erkm

an &

Bar

bara

Zel

ler

We

wan

t to

than

k th

e pe

ople

for

ste

ppin

g up

and

taki

ngth

e in

itiat

ive

to d

o an

eve

nt h

onor

ing

Jose

. H

is c

onsi

sten

cy a

ndco

mm

itmen

t hav

e ea

rned

him

the

resp

ect

and

love

of m

any

of u

she

re a

nd in

Pue

rto

Ric

o, a

nd th

e an

imos

ity o

f the

sta

te.

We'

repr

oud

to jo

in y

ou in

sta

ndin

g by

his

sid

e..

Osc

ar L

opez

Riv

era

I wou

ld li

ke to

sha

re s

ome

rem

embr

ance

s of

Jos

e's

earl

y ye

ars,

whi

ch is

pro

babl

y th

e le

ast k

now

n pa

rt o

f hi

s lif

e.

Eve

n du

ring

thos

e ea

rly

form

ativ

e ye

ars

we

coul

d al

read

y se

e th

e pi

ctur

e of

ave

ry s

peci

al a

nd e

ndea

ring

hum

an b

eing

who

was

des

tined

to26

beco

me

the

man

we

have

lear

ned

to lo

ve a

nd r

espe

ct.

Whe

n ou

r mot

her

was

pre

gnan

t w

ith J

ose

she

wou

ld te

llus

she

was

car

ryin

g a

very

spe

cial

chi

ld, a

nd th

at s

he w

as g

oing

to n

ame

him

Jos

e E

lias

in h

onor

of h

er d

ead

fath

er.

Her

fat

her

had

been

a v

ery

spec

ial

pers

on to

our

mot

her,

and

she

mus

t hav

eha

d th

e de

sire

for

Jos

e to

be

like

him

. W

hen

he w

as b

orn

we

calle

d hi

m "

Che

lia",

whi

ch w

as o

ur g

rand

fath

er's

nick

nam

e.T

he m

ost s

alie

nt c

hara

cter

istic

of J

ose'

s ea

rly

beha

vior

was

his

pro

pens

ity to

pre

fer

the

com

pany

of

adul

ts o

ver

that

of

his

peer

s. W

hile

oth

er c

hild

ren

wou

ld b

e pl

ayin

g, J

ose

wou

ld b

een

gage

d in

som

e ac

tivity

with

adu

lts.

Whe

n w

e ar

rive

d in

Chi

cago

we

had

a w

hite

lady

for

ane

ighb

or.

She

lived

by

hers

elf

and

som

e do

gs,

and

was

n't

too

popu

lar

wit

h he

r ne

ighb

ors.

Jos

e, w

ho w

as n

ine

year

s ol

d at

the

time

and

didn

't sp

eak

Eng

lish,

beg

an to

ass

ocia

te w

ith h

er.

Soon

they

bec

ame

so c

lose

that

they

wer

e in

sepa

rabl

e.

She

trea

ted

him

lik

e a

son

and

wou

ld ta

ke h

im to

thea

ters

, mov

ies,

mus

eum

san

d re

saur

ants

. T

hus

expo

sing

Jos

e to

a w

orld

unk

now

n to

his

peer

s.W

e m

oved

, and

I b

elie

ve J

ose

lost

con

tat w

ith h

er.

Jose

bega

n to

mis

beha

ve in

the

new

sch

ool.

We

mov

ed a

gain

. A

ndth

is ti

me

he c

onne

cted

with

Sta

nley

and

Ann

ie, a

Pol

ish

coup

lew

ho h

ad n

o ch

ildre

n.St

anle

y w

as a

pre

cinc

t ca

ptai

n fo

r th

e D

aley

Mac

hine

.H

e m

ade

Jose

his

inte

rpre

ter

with

the

Puer

to R

ican

vot

ers.

As

the

rela

tions

hip

flou

rish

ed h

e ta

ught

Jos

e ho

w to

wor

k th

epr

ecin

cts,

how

to tu

rn o

ut th

e vo

ters

and

how

to w

ork

the

polli

ngst

atio

ns.

He

prov

ided

Jos

e w

ith f

irst

hand

less

ons

into

the

wor

king

s of

the

Dal

ey M

achi

ne a

nd it

s pa

tron

age

syst

em.

Jose

beca

me

like

a so

n an

d he

wou

ld p

arta

ke i

n ev

ery

aspe

ct o

fA

nnie

's an

d St

anle

y's

life,

inc

ludi

ng f

amily

vac

atio

ns.

Stan

ley

wou

ld ta

ke h

im to

all

polit

ical

mee

tings

at t

he lo

cal,

city

and

stat

ewid

e le

vel.

He

even

took

him

to a

Nat

iona

l Dem

ocra

ticPa

rty

Con

vent

ion.

By

the

time

Jose

gra

duat

ed f

rom

the

8th

gra

de h

e ac

ted

and

talk

ed l

ike

a po

litic

ian.

In

high

sch

ool h

e co

ntin

ued

to e

xcel

and

beca

me

a kn

own

deba

ter

and

stud

ent

lead

er.

And

by

the

time

he g

radu

ated

fro

m h

igh

scho

ol o

ur m

othe

r had

no

doub

t he 27

had

beco

me

the

very

spe

cial

per

son

she

had

divi

ned

and

desi

red.

He

had

alre

ady

touc

hed

man

y pe

ople

, had

man

y go

od f

rien

ds o

fal

l age

s an

d of

dif

fere

nt r

aces

and

nat

iona

litie

s, w

as a

ctiv

e in

the

com

mun

ity a

nd e

njoy

ed th

e ad

mir

atio

n, re

spec

t an

d lo

ve o

fm

any.

It's

thi

s sp

ecia

l per

son

of th

en a

nd n

ow I

cal

l bro

ther

and

com

pane

ro w

ith a

ll m

y lo

ve a

nd re

spec

t.

Osc

or L

opez

Riv

era

#876

51-0

24P.

O. B

ox 3

3T

erre

Hau

te, I

ndia

na 4

7808

Jan

Susl

er

Wha

t an

exci

ting

mom

ent t

o ce

lebr

ate

the

life

of o

urde

ar c

omra

de J

ose.

As

we

mov

e to

the

clos

e of

the

deca

de/

cent

ury/

mill

enni

um, t

his

hist

oria

n gu

ides

us

to th

e ne

xt m

illen

-ni

um; f

earl

ess

in h

is v

isio

n; u

ndau

nted

by

the

slin

gs a

nd a

rrow

sof

opp

ress

ion

and

the

endl

ess

recu

rren

t w

itch

hunt

s; ra

bbin

ical

inhi

s st

udy;

min

iste

ring

to th

e po

litic

al, e

duca

tiona

l, pe

rson

al a

ndye

s, s

piri

tual

, nee

ds o

f his

min

ions

; da

ring

to h

ope-

and

to m

ake

that

hop

e co

ntag

ious

- an

d th

en a

ctin

g re

lent

less

ly, i

nspi

red

byth

at h

ope,

to re

aliz

e a

wor

ld o

f thi

nkin

g, s

elf-

dete

rmin

ing,

wom

en a

nd m

en w

ho to

geth

er w

ill f

orge

a s

pace

fre

e of

exp

loita

-tio

n. F

orev

er in

mot

ion,

exc

ited,

irre

pres

sibl

e, l

earn

ing

and

teac

hing

- a

n in

spir

atio

n fo

r th

ose

of u

s fo

rtun

ate

enou

gh to

wal

kat

this

sid

e. W

ith d

eep

and

abid

ing

resp

ect a

nd lo

ve,

and

grat

i-tu

de f

or h

is e

xam

ple

to u

s al

l, an

d fo

r his

two

deca

de lo

ngin

vest

men

t in

me.

Jan

Susl

er

28

Lau

ra W

hite

horn

Whe

n th

e ne

ws

of th

e Pr

esid

ent's

cle

men

cy o

ffer

was

conf

irm

ed,

I pic

ked

up th

e ph

one

and

calle

d th

e ba

kery

to le

ave

am

essa

ge f

or J

ose:

"Y

ou a

re a

gen

ius.

" H

e w

as o

ut te

achi

ng a

clas

s at

the

time.

A ti

rele

ss g

eniu

s.B

eing

by

now

a li

fe-l

ong

revo

lutio

nary

, I d

on't

mea

n'g

eniu

s' a

s an

elit

e te

rm.

Inte

llect

— s

omet

hing

Jos

e un

deni

ably

has

in g

reat

qua

ntity

— is

onl

y on

e sm

all p

art o

f it.

Wha

t I fi

ndso

exc

eptio

nal a

nd in

spir

ing

abou

t Jo

se is

the

ener

gy a

nd e

nthu

-si

asm

he

brin

gs to

the

stru

ggle

: a

driv

e to

fig

ure

out a

nd th

enim

plem

ent a

way

for

the

forc

es' o

f D

avid

to o

verc

ome

Gol

iath

.T

he u

ncan

ny th

ing

is h

ow m

any

of J

ose'

s st

rate

gies

tur

n ou

t to

be s

ucce

ssfu

l one

s.T

he f

irst

tim

e I m

et J

ose,

som

etim

e ar

ound

197

8, h

em

ade

a sp

eech

det

ailin

g th

e hi

stor

ical

dev

elop

men

t of

the

Puer

toR

ican

Ind

epen

denc

e M

ovem

ent.

He

bega

n by

talc

ing

off

his

wat

ch, l

ike

a co

llege

pro

fess

or.

I pre

pare

d to

yaw

n. B

ut b

y th

etim

e he

fin

ishe

d, I

was

read

y to

sig

n on

for

wha

teve

r tas

k I m

ight

be a

ble

to p

erfo

rm.

He

was

com

pelli

ng;

his

anal

ysis

mot

ivat

edm

e to

act

. Thr

ough

out

my

year

s in

pri

son,

Jos

e, y

ou w

ere

a fr

iend

and

an in

spir

atio

n.

Eve

ry v

icio

us s

tate

atta

ck o

n yo

u on

lyun

derl

ines

you

r eff

ectiv

enes

s.

In p

artic

ular

, thr

ough

thos

e ye

ars

in p

riso

n, y

ou g

ave

me

need

ed p

oliti

cal

and

pers

onal

sup

port

as

ale

sbia

n as

wel

l as

anan

ti-im

peri

alis

trI

adm

ire

you.

I re

spec

t you

. I

love

you

.

Lau

ra W

hite

horn

Rec

ently

rel

ease

dpo

litic

al p

riso

ner

29

R'n

BR

esis

tanc

e in

Bro

okly

nIt

is in

deed

an

hono

r fo

r R

esis

tanc

e in

Bro

okly

n (R

nB)

to b

e ab

le to

sen

d th

ese

wor

ds o

f ce

lebr

atio

n fo

r Jo

se E

. Lop

ez.

Tho

ugh

root

ed i

n th

e no

rth

amer

ican

pro

gres

sive

mov

emen

ts o

fN

ew Y

ork

City

-as

Jose

is

prof

ound

ly ro

oted

in

the

Puer

to R

ican

com

mun

ity o

f C

hica

go-w

e ca

n ba

rely

beg

in t

o ex

pres

s th

e m

any

way

s th

at h

e ha

s in

spir

ed,

educ

ated

and

led

us o

ver

man

y ye

ars

of s

trug

gle. A p

art o

f RnB

ori

gina

ted

dire

ctly

from

the

wor

k of

the

Free

Pue

rto

Ric

o C

omm

ittee

, fo

rmer

ly t

he N

ew M

ovem

ent i

nSo

lidar

ity w

ith P

uert

o R

ican

Ind

epen

denc

e an

d So

cial

ism

, an

d it

was

in th

is w

ork

that

Jos

e's

brea

thta

king

and

raz

or-s

harp

ana

lysi

sfir

st w

on o

ur h

eart

s an

d m

inds

. Tea

chin

g us

the

hist

ory

and

mul

tifar

ious

man

ifes

tatio

ns o

f U.S

. col

onia

lism

, he

was

one

of

the

few

who

cle

arly

art

icul

ated

a p

ract

ical

pro

gram

of

solid

arity

.B

y cr

eatin

g a

spac

e to

pra

ctic

e th

at s

olid

arity

und

er th

e di

rect

ion

of a

par

t of t

he P

uert

o R

ican

mov

emen

t, he

hel

ped

us to

bec

ome

the

type

of

inte

rnat

iona

lists

tha

t wou

ld n

eith

er lo

se s

ight

of t

heim

peri

al a

nd re

pres

sive

nat

ure

of th

e U

.S. s

tate

, nor

of t

he f

act

that

gra

ssro

ots

com

mun

ity-b

uild

ing

can

be a

pow

erfu

l to

ol to

com

bat t

hat

stat

e.M

any

of u

s in

RnB

are

edu

cato

rs,

and

here

aga

in J

ose'

ste

achi

ngs

rem

ain

stro

ng. W

heth

er d

evel

opin

g in

depe

nden

t day

care

cen

ter's

in E

l Bar

rio'

s T

aino

Tow

ers

and

in C

row

n H

eigh

ts,

or in

repr

esen

ting

the

supe

rinte

nden

t of

NY

C's

Alte

rnat

ive

Hig

hSc

hool

s an

d Pr

ogra

ms,

we

have

bee

n ev

er-m

indf

ul o

f th

e m

anne

rin

whi

ch th

e bu

ildin

g of

em

pow

erin

g in

stitu

tions

in C

hica

go's

Puer

to R

ican

com

mun

ity h

as b

een

part

and

par

cel

of b

uild

ing

for

soci

al c

hang

e. T

houg

h th

e ex

ampl

es o

f on

e co

mm

unity

can

not

easi

ly b

e re

plic

ated

in

anot

her,

the

Pedr

o A

lbiz

u C

ampo

s Hig

hSc

hool

and

Don

a C

onse

ula

Cor

retje

r D

ay C

are

have

bee

n m

ore

than

mod

els

for u

s; th

ey a

re s

pace

s w

here

we

cont

inue

to le

arn

the

less

ons

of b

ette

ring

our

ow

n cr

aft.

Our

wor

k in

the

lesb

ian

and

gay,

and

AID

S ac

tivis

t, co

mm

uniti

es h

as b

een

infl

uenc

ed b

y30

the

wor

k of

VID

A-S

IDA

, ano

ther

alte

rnat

ive

inst

itutio

n th

atm

odel

s no

t sim

ply

soci

al s

ervi

ce,

but t

he f

ight

for

soc

ial

just

ice.

In a

dditi

on t

o be

ing

an e

xem

plar

y st

rate

gist

, Jos

e ha

sta

ught

us

the

conn

ectio

ns b

etw

een

cultu

re a

nd c

omm

unity

,be

twee

n pr

axis

and

ideo

logy

. T

houg

h "R

nB"

mos

t ty

pica

llyst

ands

for

our

geo

grap

hic

orie

ntat

ion,

we

shar

e Jo

se's

thirs

t fo

rex

amin

ing

the

wor

ld w

ithou

t dog

ma,

and

hav

e tri

ed t

o em

brac

eth

e be

st o

f th

e R

ed &

Bla

ck.

Mee

ting

as o

ften

in

the

kitc

hen

orth

e ba

kery

as

in th

e co

nfer

ence

hal

l, w

e ar

e ha

ppy

to s

hare

Jos

e's

love

of

food

(in

clud

ing

Ric

e &

Bea

ns),

and

have

bee

n ho

nore

d to

be s

erve

d up

som

e ch

alle

ngin

g qu

estio

ns b

y Jo

se a

s he

has

sim

ulta

neou

sly

serv

ed u

s so

me

cafe

. It i

s ou

r pl

easu

re n

ow to

offe

r hi

m b

oth

Ros

es &

Bre

ad.

As

we'

ve w

orke

d to

geth

er th

ese

past

dec

ades

, w

e m

ust

ackn

owle

dge

Jose

's e

xtra

ordi

nary

sen

se o

f au

dien

ce a

nd m

o-m

ent,

find

ing

the

righ

t thi

ngs

to s

ay a

nd th

e ri

ght w

ays

toco

nnec

t w

ith w

idel

y di

vers

e pe

ople

s. W

heth

er a

ddre

ssin

g a

cons

ortiu

m o

f co

nflic

t res

olut

ion

prof

esso

rs i

n O

hio,

or

a ga

ther

-in

g of

pac

ifis

ts in

Cal

ifor

nia,

or

a gr

oup

of s

tude

nts

at C

olum

bia

Uni

vers

ity, J

ose

neve

r fa

ils t

o en

light

en.

In th

e w

ork

to f

ree

the

polit

ical

pri

sone

rs/p

ows,

we

have

fel

t pri

vile

ged

to h

elp

set u

plis

ts o

f pro

min

ent

sign

ers

to im

pres

s th

ose

insi

de t

he W

hite

Hou

se, w

hile

als

o en

gagi

ng i

n ci

vil d

isob

edie

nce

outs

ide

of th

atsa

me

hous

e-in

a m

yria

d of

cam

paig

ns u

nder

Jos

e's

infl

uenc

e an

ddi

rect

ion.

No

one

can

talk

abo

ut th

e ca

mpa

ign

to fr

ee t

he P

uert

oR

ican

pol

itica

l pri

sone

r an

d pr

ison

ers

of w

ar w

ithou

t ta

lkin

gab

out t

he in

cred

ible

rol

e in

that

mov

emen

t tha

t Jos

e ha

s pl

ayed

from

the

beg

inni

ng,

and

cont

inue

s to

pla

y. H

e ha

s tr

uly

put h

isw

hole

sel

f in

to it

, tur

ning

ver

y pe

rson

al s

uffe

ring

-the

sep

arat

ion

from

his

bro

ther

, the

yea

rs o

f C

OIN

TE

LPR

O, a

nd th

e m

any

form

s of

opp

ress

ion

livin

g in

the

belly

of

the

beas

t-in

to a

trem

endo

usly

hop

eful

and

pas

sion

ate

mov

emen

t for

the

liber

a-tio

n of

the

pris

oner

s an

d of

the

isla

nd.

His

con

sist

ency

, th

eory

and

prax

is,

have

bui

lt th

e w

hole

mov

emen

t to

fre

e al

l the

U.S

.po

litic

al p

rison

ers,

and

hav

e he

lped

us

all t

o le

arn

to tu

rn d

efea

tsin

to v

icto

ries

.W

e fe

el p

rivi

lege

d no

w to

be

able

to h

ost J

ose

once

agai

n, a

s w

e or

gani

ze a

nat

iona

l co

nfer

ence

in N

YC

on

the

two- 31

hund

redt

h bi

rthd

ay o

f ra

dica

l abo

litio

nist

John

Bro

wn

(May

12-

14, 2

000)

, at

whi

ch Jo

se w

ill b

e a

maj

or p

rese

nter

. Thi

s m

ove-

men

t, fu

ll of

cha

nge

and

cont

inui

ty, i

s a

far

rich

er, b

righ

ter,

and

mor

e su

cces

sful

pla

ce b

ecau

se o

f th

e ha

rd w

ork

and

clea

rth

inki

ng o

f Jo

se E

. Lop

ez.

May

we

all w

alk

toge

ther

, in

this

new

era,

tow

ard

even

gre

ater

suc

cess

es.

Lon

g L

ive

Jose

Lop

ez!

Meg

Sta

rr, M

att M

eyer

, Bob

Led

erer

, Els

peth

Mey

er, B

etsy

Mic

kel

and

all t

he m

embe

rs o

f R

esis

tanc

e in

Bro

okly

n (R

nB)

R'n

BR

esis

tanc

e in

Bro

okly

nc/

o W

RL

, 339

Laf

ayet

te S

tree

t, N

Y 1

0012

; mm

msr

nb@

igc.

org

•

Ara

wn

Eib

hlyn

Wed

nesd

ay, O

ctob

er 2

7, 1

999

Jose

,

I w

ish

I co

uld

be th

ere

wit

h th

ose

frie

nds

and

allie

sga

ther

ed to

hon

or y

ou. P

leas

e kn

ow th

at I

am

wit

h yo

u in

spi

rit.

We

rare

ly ta

ke th

e ti

me

to h

onor

thos

e w

e lo

ve a

ndre

spec

t. C

augh

t up

in o

ur li

ves,

we

beli

eve

ther

e w

ill b

e ti

me

todo

it a

noth

er d

ay. I

'm h

appy

this

day

is s

et a

side

to h

onor

you

,an

d no

one

is m

ore

dese

rvin

g of

suc

h a

trib

ute.

I've

had

the

priv

iledg

e to

kno

w y

ou f

or m

ore

than

fift

een

year

s. T

here

are

mem

orie

s I

hold

ver

y cl

ose.

No

doub

t, m

any

"Jos

e m

omen

ts"

wil

l be

reca

lled

toni

ght.

Nea

r th

e to

p of

the

list:

the

driv

e an

d en

ergy

tha

t mot

ivat

ed h

undr

eds

of u

s to

boa

rdbu

ses

to d

emon

stra

te a

t the

gat

es o

f th

e L

exin

gton

Cor

rect

iona

lFa

cilit

y an

d A

lder

son

Peni

tent

iary

. Or

your

det

erm

inat

ion

tom

aint

ain

spir

ited

and

orga

nize

d pi

cket

s ou

tsid

e A

leja

ndri

na's

tria

l on

thos

e le

gend

ary

Chi

cago

win

ter d

ays.

On

a m

ore

mun

-da

ne le

vel,

I re

mem

ber

the

deba

tes

abou

t whe

ther

or

not v

eg-

etar

iani

sm w

as a

n im

peri

alis

t con

spir

acy

agai

nst t

he T

hird

32

Wor

ld. A

nd th

e fi

rst t

ime

you

prep

ared

a v

eget

aria

n di

sh f

or o

neof

the

man

y pr

ogra

ms

at th

e C

ultu

ral

Cen

ter,

pulli

ng m

e in

to th

eki

tche

n to

sho

w o

ff y

our

culin

ary

feat

. As

anyo

ne c

an a

ttest

,th

ere

are

too

man

y w

onde

rful

Jos

e m

omen

ts t

o m

entio

n. I

cher

ish

each

and

eve

ry o

ne.

Mos

t of

all,

Jos

e, I

hon

or y

ou f

or y

our

hear

t, yo

urte

nder

ness

, yo

ur h

uman

ity, a

nd y

our

deep

will

ingn

ess

to o

pen

your

self

to a

ll yo

u m

eet.

As

a ga

y m

an a

nd a

s a

pers

on li

ving

with

AID

S, y

our

frie

ndsh

ip a

nd y

our

supp

ort h

ave

been

dee

ply

felt

and

wel

com

e. P

erha

ps m

ore

impo

rtan

tly,

your

per

sona

lco

mm

itmen

t an

d th

at o

f th

e Pu

erto

Ric

an m

ovem

ent t

o op

enly

supp

ort q

ueer

lib

erat

ion

has

chal

leng

ed t

he a

ll to

o nu

mer

ous

•hom

opho

bic

elem

ents

of p

rogr

essi

ve

mov

emen

ts.

As

I w

rite

this

, I'm

loo

king

at a

pic

ture

of D

avid

Ste

rn.

His

mis

chie

vous

sm

ile a

ll te

eth

and

quic

k w

it. H

ad h

e liv

ed, h

ew

ould

hav

e be

en th

e fi

rst a

nd lo

udes

t vo

ice

at th

e ga

tes

ofPl

easa

nton

to g

reet

Car

men

, Dyl

cia,

Alic

ia a

nd L

ucy

whe

n th

eyw

ere

rele

ased

. And

just

as

you

hono

red

his

deep

com

mitm

ent

toth

e pr

ison

ers

and

Puer

to R

ican

ind

epen

denc

e at

a tr

ibut

e in

San

Fran

cisc

o, I

kno

w h

e w

ould

be

here

with

you

toni

ght,

the

firs

ton

e on

his

fee

t whe

n yo

u're

int

rodu

ced.

Fina

lly,

in h

onor

ing

you,

Jos

e, I

feel

that

I a

m a

lso

hono

ring

the

Pue

rto

Ric

an I

ndep

ende

nce

mov

emen

t. T

he o

ppor

-tu

nity

to w

ork

with

you

and

all

thos

e as

soci

ated

with

the

PRC

C,

VID

A/

SID

A, a

nd th

e Pu

erto

Ric

an c

omm

unity

has

mad

e m

e a

bette

r pe

rson

. You

r exa

mpl

e ha

s de

epen

ded

my

sens

e of

per

sona

lan

d po

litic

al i

nteg

rity,

per

seve

ranc

e, a

nd f

lexi

bilit

y. It

has

eve

nfo

rced

me

to a

dmit

that

ther

e ar

e m

omen

ts w

hen

that

whi

ch is

seem

ingl

y im

poss

ible

can

inde

ed b

e ac

hiev

ed.

33

Gra

cias

por

30

anos

de

cons

entim

ento

yen

seri

anza

a lo

sLa

tinos

de

Chi

cago

De

Gra

ciel

a M

acia

sy

Juan

Ale

xand

ro

Vill

agra

na-

Mac

ias

Ble

ssin

gs &

Con

grat

ulat

ions

to y

ou,

our

frie

ndJo

se L

opez

8th

Day

Cen

ter

for

Just

ice

@*m

mit

tee

t

t*it

*te

t*

Sem

ite

t*

fate

/*

«*£

t*

fa*

tee

* *

tte

34

Jose

,

Tha

nk y

ou f

or y

our

pric

eles

s co

ntri

bu-

tion

s to

the

cons

truc

-ti

on o

f a

wor

ld fr

ee o

fop

pres

sion

.

Wit

h al

l our

res

pect

and

adm

irat

ion,

In d

eepe

st s

olid

arit

y,

Pra

irie

Fir

eO

rgan

izin

gC

omm

itte

ePR

AIR

IE F

IRE

OR

GA

NIZ

ING

CO

MM

ITTE

E

35

Sor

ry w

e ca

n't

be th

ere.

We

add

our

voic

es to

thos

e w

ho a

ckno

wle

dge

the

grea

t co

ntri

buti

ons

of J

ose

Lop

ez, n

ot o

nly

to s

trug

gle

for

Pue

rto

Ric

an i

ndep

ende

nce

but

to th

e st

rugg

le f

or p

eace

and

soci

al ju

stic

e fo

r al

lhu

man

kin

d.

Bon

nie

Ker

ness

Mas

ai E

heho

siA

FS

C P

riso

n W

atch

New

ark,

New

Jer

sey

TO

JOS

EL

6PE

Z

In r

esp

ect a

nd

app

reci

atio

n o

fyo

ur

man

y ye

ars

of c

omm

ittm

ent

to P

uer

to R

ican

indep

enden

ce a

nd

soci

al ju

stic

e.

Ch

ina B

rots

ky

Mal

colm

X C

olle

geO

ne o

f th

e C

ity

Col

lege

s of

Chi

cago

Lat

ino

Cen

ter

Salu

tes

Josi

Lop

ez a

nd th

e PR

CC

on

30 y

ears

of

plan

ting

see

ds in

the

com

mun

ity.

36

Th

ank

you

for

you

ru

nw

aver

ing

supp

ort

for

Ch

icag

o's

Pu

erto

Ric

anco

mm

un

ity

and

Cat

ino'

sca

use

s ove

r th

e la

st 3

Oye

ars

. del

Vai

leS

tate

Sen

ato

rA

ssis

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t D

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rati

c L

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ate

Dis

tric

t41

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W.

Arm

itage

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nu

eC

hic

ago,

<DC

6O

639

To Jose

Lop

ez,

Wit

h g

reat

ad

mir

atio

n fo

r yo

ur

un

wav

erin

g c

omm

ittm

ent

to th

efr

eed

om a

nd

indep

enden

ce o

f P

uer

toR

ico a

nd

you

r ov

er ti

ro-d

ecad

e's

his

-to

ry o

f wor

k in

the

Pu

erto

Ric

anco

mm

un

ity o

f C

hic

ago.

Wit

h g

reat

res

pec

t,th

e P

eople

's L

aw O

ffic

e11

80 W

est M

ilwau

kee

773-

235-

0070

ni

The

Chi

cago

Ch

apte

r of

the

Nat

iona

l Law

yers

Gui

ld

Salu

tes

Jose

Lop

ezfo

r hi

s co

mm

itm

ent t

o th

est

rugg

le f

or s

elf

dete

rmin

a-tio

n fo

r th

e P

uert

o R

ican

Peop

le a

nd e

spec

ially

for

his

unce

asin

g ef

fort

s to

free

the

Pue

rto

Ric

an P

o-lit

ical

Pri

sone

rs.

It's

gre

at w

orki

ngw

ith

you

Jose

"You

are

one

of

the

Indi

spen

sabl

es! "

30 A

nos

Sem

bran

do S

emill

asF

elic

idad

es a

l Gen

tro

Cul

tura

lP

uert

orri

quen

os p

or su

ini

com

prom

iso

a la

inde

pede

ncia

de

Pue

rto

Ric

o y a

la li

ber

tad

de

los

pri

sion

eros

pol

icos

. A

unqu

e no

tod

os lo

s p

atri

otas

fuer

on p

ues

tos

en li

ber

tad

, y la

sco

nic

ion

es im

pu

esta

s a lo

s ez

carc

elad

osso

n t«

jn«t

-aa>

nos

reg

ocija

mos

por

lalib

erta

d d

e aq

uello

s es

tan

abo

ra li

bre

s.

En

esp

ecia

l, le

que

rem

os o

frec

er n

uest

roap

oyo,

nu

estr

a am

ista

d, y

nue

stra

ajft

inir

acio

n a

lose

Lop

ez, c

uya

dir

ecci

onde

l Gen

tro

y d

el e

sfu

erzo

por

par

te d

el lo

sp

rion

eros

es

un ej

empl

o pa

ra to

dos

.

Jose

, te

ecba

mos

de

men

os, g

raci

as p

or la

stti

nolia

ia c

omid

as ri

cas

que

nos

prep

aras

teen

nue

stro

bog

ar, e

spec

iale

men

te lo

sto

ston

es. {

Gua

no v

uel

ves?

P'a

lan

te sie

mp

re.

Tus hen

nan

os

en la

India

,P

iri T

hom

as y

Su

zie

Dod

Tho

mas

Ch

ever

ote

Pro

du

ctio

ns

1678

Sh

attn

ck A

ve.,

Ste

. 278

Ber

kel

ey,

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947

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10) 5

20-0

660,

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10) 6

20-0

668

Em

ail:

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omas

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NA

I.C

OM

Suzi

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3839

Gra

cias

Jos

e po

r tu

com

prom

iso

anu

estr

a co

mim

idad

Pue

rtor

ique

na.

Will

iam

Del

gado

Stat

e Rep

rese

ntat

ive

3rd

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tric

t41

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est A

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go, I

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2-02

02

40

Jose

, we

appr

ecia

te y

our:

-Vis

ion

and

sens

e of

his

tory

-Bre

adth

in

oppo

sing

all

form

s of

oppr

essi

on a

nd n

urtu

ring

acu

ltur

e of

res

ista

nce

-Per

sona

l sa

crif

ice

-Rol

e in

uni

ting

and

gal

vani

zing

so m

any

peop

le-C

onsi

sten

cy a

nd i

ndef

atig

abil

ity

and

last

but

not

leas

t,-H

ome

cook

ing!

Vic

ki L

egio

n, D

irec

tor

Com

mun

ity

Hea

lth

Tra

inin

g C

ente

rD

epar

tmen

t of

Hea

lth E

duca

tion

1600

Hol

low

ay A

veSa

n F

ranc

isco

CA

941

32 4

161

a jo

int

prog

ram

of C

ity C

olle

ge o

f Sa

nF

ranc

isco

and

San

Fra

ncis

co S

tate

Uni

-ve

rsity

. P

hone

415

338

-348

0 fa

x 41

533

8-79

48V

^

_

r

41

Ca

pat

Ha

es v

alo

r y

sacr

ific

io

... y

sazo

nsu

do

r.

Con

gra

tula

tion

san

d th

an

ks

to a

man

of

gre

at

hea

rtan

d pro

ph

etic

visi

on, w

ho

sest

ubborn

res

ista

nce

to c

olon

iali

sm a

nd

oppr

essi

on c

onti

n-

ues

to

in

spir

e u

s.

Jam

es a

nd f

lozo

mi

42

Lov

e,

Res

pect

and

Dee

p

App

reci

atio

n

Nan

cy &

Ste

ve43

Ham

mer

Har

d M

edia

Wor

kssa

lute

s

Jose

E. L

opez

educ

ator

, ac

tivis

t, P

uer

to R

ican

pat

riot,

and

fri

end.

iFU

ER

A L

A M

AR

INA

DE

VIE

QU

ES!

jViv

a P

uert

o R

ico

Lib

re!

Info

rmat

ion

is p

ower

. Ham

mer

Har

d M

edia

Wor

ksM

edia

ser

vice

s fo

r C

hica

go's

pro

gres

sive

com

mun

ity, i

nclu

ding

wri

ting,

edi

ting,

pres

s pl

anni

ng, l

ayou

t and

des

ign.

Phon

e: 3

12.7

33.2

181

• fax

: 312

.733

.218

2 • e

mai

l:ha

mm

erha

rd@

aol.c

om;

cage

ovan

is@

aol.c

om

Chr

is G

eova

nis

• Dic

k R

eilly

Nei

ghb

ors

Aga

inst

Pol

ice

Bru

talit

ysa

lute

s

Jose

E. L

opez

for

his

tir

eles

s w

ork

on b

ehal

f of

Chic

ago's

Puer

to R

ican

com

munit

y a

nd

ju

stic

e fo

r al

loppre

ssed

peo

ple

s.

End

pol

ice

priv

ilege

and

pro

tect

ion

from

due

pro

cess

.W

rite

May

or D

aley

and

tell

him

to s

trik

e la

ngua

gefr

om th

e F

OP

con

trac

t that

pro

tect

s br

utal

cop

sfr

om b

eing

pun

ishe

d fo

r cr

imes

of

viol

ence

!C

hica

go M

ayor

Ric

hard

M. D

aley

,

44

Fro

m t

he

fam

ily

of p

rogr

ams

atT

he

Don

Ju

an A

nto

nio

Cor

retj

erP

uer

to R

ican

Cu

ltu

ral

Cen

ter

Dr.

Ped

ro A

lbiz

u C

ampo

s P

uert

o R

ican

Hig

h Sc

hool

Con

suel

o L

ee C

orre

tjer

Day

Car

e C

ente

rFa

mily

Lea

rnin

g C

ente

rA

ndre

s Fi

guer

oa C

orde

ro M

emor

ial L

ibra

ryV

ida/

SID

A P

rogr

amM

arga

rita

de

Cay

ey T

heat

re o

f the

Opp

ress

edD

r. P

edro

Alb

izu

Cam

pos

Mus

eum

We

salu

te y

ou fo

r yo

ur d

edic

atio

n a

nd le

ader

ship

,fo

r yo

ur s

tead

fast

com

mitm

ent

to o

urco

mm

unity

and

to j

usti

ce.

Ton

igh

t w

e h

onor

you

an

dce

lebr

ate

you

r co

ntr

ibu

tion

s.

45

Jos

e:

In S

olid

arit

y

Clo

se A

ll C

ontr

ol U

nit

s!

Com

mit

tee

toE

nd th

e M

ario

nL

ock

dow

n

46

Com

rade

Jos

e:

Tha

nk y

ou fo

ryo

ur

un

ceas

ing

effo

rts

and

exam

ple!

Am

andl

a!

Out

Of C

ontr

olL

esb

ian

Com

mit

tee

toF

ree

Pol

itic

al P

riso

ners 47

ROBERTO MALDONADO

Cook County Commissioner 8th District26th Ward Democratic Committeeman

Roberto MaldonadoSalutes a great Puerto Rican leader,

Jose E. Lopezfor his hard work and dedication to the

Puerto Rican community.

OUR OFFICE IS HERE TO SERVE YOU!

8th District Community Service Office26th Ward Democratic Committeman Office:

2615 W. Division StreetChicago, Illinois 60622

Tel: (773) 395-0143Fax: (773)395-0146

E-mail: RMaldonado@wwa,com

COOK COUNTY COMMISSION?R8TH DISTRICT26TH^ARb DEMOCRATIC COMMITTEEMAN