National Boricua Human Rights Network National Meeting in New York by Juan “Nito” Morales During the Martin Luther King weekend, the National Boricua Human Rights Network (NBHRN) held a national meeting at El Maestro in the Bronx New York. El Maestro is a community-based organization that promotes culture and sports for the surrounding area of the South Bronx. The name El Maestro is in reference to the popular name for Dr. Pedro Albizu Campos. The purpose of the meeting was to strategize about the upcoming efforts in the United States to seek the freedom of the Puerto Rican patriot Oscar López Rivera. More than 50 representatives from the following cities attended; San Francisco, Chicago, Detroit, Cleveland, Philadelphia, New York, Hartford, New Haven, Massachusetts, and Orlando. Two representatives from a monthly event “32 Women for Oscar”, Annette Diaz and Alida Millan Ferrer from Puerto Rico, one of the highlights of the meeting was the presentation by the 2 women. The meeting began with a presentation by them and culminated with an event of the celebration of the 100th anniversary of the birth of Oscar Collazo. Prior to the meeting various youth from different universities met and mapped out ideas on how […] Read More
Al cumplir mis 70 años celebro y le doy gracias a la vida por todo lo que me ha dado y por todo lo que me ha enseñado. La celebro y le doy gracias por haberme enseñado que ella es lucha toda, que si pretendo vivir tengo que luchar y luchar si pretendo vivir. La celebro y le doy gracias por dejarme experimentar la extrema pobreza material y por retarme a trascenderla sin envidia u odio a nadie. La celebro y le doy gracias por haberme expuesto a experimentar en carne y hueso los prejuicios, la discriminación y el racismo por ser boricua, por mi piel oscura, por mi tamaño, por no saber hablar inglés y hasta por hablar español “chapiao” para que aprendiera una grata lección – que la única raza es la humana y que todos los humanos somos falibles e imperfectos. La celebro y le doy gracias por haberme expuesto a una guerra para que me paseara por la sombra de la muerte, sintiera la muerte de los otros como si fuera la mía y sin ser conciente de ello convertirme en un sembrador de muertes, de devastación y destrucción en un pueblo que pudo ser el […] Read More
Perdón presidencial: una victoria agridulce agosto 1999 El miércoles 11 de agosto el Presidente Bill Clinton se vió forzado a firmar una orden extendiendo el perdón presidencial a 11 de los 15 prisioneros políticos puertorriqueños. Esto representa una gran victoria para la campaña por la excarcelación de estos presos y en particular para el Comité Nacional Pro-Excarcelación Prisioneros de Guerra y Presos Políticos Puertorriqueños. La euforia inicial se tornó en idignación al enterarse que el Presidente estaba imponiendo condiciones estrictas como requisito para la liberación de los presos. Con esta victoria agridulce el Presidente tuvo que reconocer la fuerza de la campaña que ha ido creciendo en los últimos años. Además es importante recalcar que el presidente y el Departamento de Justicia tuvieron que admitir que las sentencias de los prisioneros eran desproporcionadas y excesivas. Sin duda alguna, la protesta el 23 de julio en Washington, D.C., donde 17 compañeros fueron arrestados en una manifestación de desobediencia civil, fue la gota que desbordó el cubo. Seguir leyendo en RED BORICUA. Read More
Mr. Luis Alejandro Molina, National Boricua Human Rights Network. http://boricuahumanrights.org/ (Chicago) Interview dated 17th Aug 2011 on telephone Mr. Molina is part of the Network from 2001, as that’s when it was formed, but he was a founding member of the original organization, the National Committee to Free Puerto Rican Prisoners of War and Political Prisoners, in 1979. He was involved with these issues from 1976 and has always been interested in Latino rights issues (ever since he was 16/17 years old) because of the influence of his family background. His mother, in particular, was moved by social justice issues and influenced him. His parents had to go to college a second time in the U.S. as their BA’s from Mexico were not accepted in the States. The struggles for civil and human rights in the university were also rooted in the Latino community. Mr. Molina has lived in the same community for the last 40 years. Continue reading at National Boricua Human Rights Network Read More
José E. López Solidarity message to the Millon Man March Compañeras y compañeros, Brothers and Sisters: I greet you in the name of the Puerto Rican communities of Chicago. I greet you in the name of Dr. Pedro Albizu Campos – the standard-bearers, the embodiment, the symbols of the Puerto Rican people, yearning for freedom, justice and peace. I greet you in the name of the Puerto Rican political prisoners in U.S. prisons charged with seditious conspiracy for their actions on behalf of Puerto Rico’s right to be a free and independent nation. I salute Minister Farrakhan, the Nation of Islam, and all who have labored to celebrate the 2nd Anniversary of the Million Man March with their Day of Atonement. A delegation from the Puerto Rican community has come today to demonstrate our solidarity with you on this momentous occasion. Our presence here tonight, we hope, will be the beginnings of a dialogue among our communities that will become an everlasting bridge for our peoples. We must realize we have a common history, and therefore a common destiny. The entire history of the past 500 years or so has been a process of taking us out of history – […] Read More
