INTRODUCTION Continuing in the spirit of positive change established by the 1988 School Reform Act, Clemente is about to embark on a new enterprise called Clemente 2001. The inspiration for this ambitious project has as its source the Four Point Program developed and approved by the Local School Council (See Appendix). Our school wants to reach out and enhance its partnership with the community. We believe that by doing this, our school community (students, parents, and staff) will develop its potential to the degree required by the demands and realities of the twenty-first century. What follows is a detailed description of the aforementioned enterprise. We strongly believe that your input and active participation are critical to the success of this endeavor. We look forward to working together with you, in the spirit of educational reform. Ideally, it should be the responsibility of every member of the community to help in the educational process of our youth. It is through the education of our youngsters that this community will ensure itself a prosperous future and preserve its precious and unique multicultural character. CLEMENTE 2001: MOVING INTO THE TWENTY-FIRST CENTURY Vision Clemente will create an appropriate educational foundation that prepares its students […] Read More
On behalf of the Puerto Rican independence movement, as well as on behalf of my brother, Oscar López Rivera — the longest-held political prisoner in Puerto Rico’s history, I want to express my deepest sense of condolences to the family, friends, and to all those who labored with him fighting the good fight against racism and colonialism, and for Black liberation, to the harvest of fruits of justice and freedom. Chokwe was truly an exceptional leader — a man who walked the walk, and in the words of Bertolt Brecht, became indispensable. His words and deeds will always resonate with us. His solidarity, particularly with the Puerto Rican and Mexican people, was unquestionable and unswerving. Chokwe clearly understood, as in the lyrics of Mercedes Sosa, everything changes. Tactics needed to be constantly re-molded, but what did not change was his love for his people; and his “Southern Song”. Continue reading at National Boricua Human Rights Network Read More
I am proud to appear before the honorable members of the Cable Commission to speak about the partnership between the Puerto Rican Cultural Center and CAN TV. Before I discuss the most recent aspects of that partnership, let me say that these concrete acts attest to the importance of the experience of CAN TV in a multicultural, multi-faceted democratic society. CAN TV provides a forum and technical assistance which addresses one of the great problems of the 21st Century – the ever-expanding schism that is the digital divide. CAN TV represents a voice for the voiceless in this society, and the promise of inclusion in the ever-growing world of information. Over the past year, we have entered into a very meaningful and beneficial partnership with CAN TV. In September 2000, CAN TV provided on-site orientation to the coordinators of the Puerto Rican Cultural Center and affiliate community groups including our alternative high school, the Dr. Pedro Albizu Campos High School; our literacy program, the Family Literacy Program (FLC); our AIDS education and prevention program, Vida/SIDA; and our Boricua National Human Rights Network. Since that orientation, we have cemented a partnership, which is self-evident in the following: • A video class […] Read More
Special Message by Alderman Billy Ocasio On June 12, 1966, the Puerto Rican community experienced one of the most important urban upheavals in the history of this country. Along Division Street from Ashland to California, already the heart of Chicago’s Puerto Rican community, the people felt a sense of neglect, abandonment, and marginalization– a real state of despair. That upheaval, known as the ‘Division Street Riots,’ served as a catalyst for the initiation of some of the most transformative activities which any inner city has ever undertaken. From the ashes of burned building and cars, our community slowly began to take its destiny into its own hands. Organized community activity sprouted up everywhere to address the issues of police brutality, poor housing, discrimination, inequitable healthcare, lack of representation in the institutions that directly impacted community life, and also the need for bilingual education. Forty years later, those seeds of change, planted by the efforts following the riots, have blossomed into a community of hope and change. Today we count in the hundreds the number of Puerto Rican educators of all sorts, including professors, principals, teachers, as well as policemen, firemen, doctors, nurses, lawyers, engineers, architects, bankers, and entrepreneurs. Today we […] Read More
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
The Case of the Mexicans and Puerto Ricans –Two People, One Destiny 1998 marks two infamous anniversaries for the two largest Latino groups in what is called the United States; for Mexicans, 150 years since the signing of the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo, and for Puerto Ricans 100 years since the US invasion of their island. On February 2, 1848, the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo was signed; a humiliated and defeated Mexico accepted the Rio Grande as the border with Texas and ceded California, Nevada, New Mexico and parts of Colorado, Arizona, and Utah to the United States. Thus the jewel on the crown of the expansionist and imperial design known as Manifest Destiny was set in place. The country which, in 1776, had declared itself independent from colonial domination, had now become the world’s major colonizer. The Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo, like all treaties which the United States had entered into with Native Americans, was not to be enforced as far as the native inhabitants were concerned; as the great Puerto Rican Nationalist, Pedro Albizu Campos would say, “The United States wants the cage but not the bird.” This sentiment echoed the words of the Mexican diplomat Manuel Cresción […] 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
Interview by Ferd Eggan and Edy Scripps with Danny Castillo, a representative of the US Army Corps of Engineers, then commentary afterward with Alexis Massol of the Adjuntas Academy of Art and Culture. Also with Bob Lederer and Mike Hansen. Army Corps of Engineers representative revealed the extent of the so-called “flood control” project in Maraguez which had already displaced 450 people from there. Alexis shared that the dam’s purpose was to provide hydroelectric power for future industries as part of the 2020 Plan which includes the development of Puerto Rico for the benefit of multinational corporations, causing environmental and physical damage to the island and its people. Read More
Download the State of Illinois hearing transcripts here and the “Community Hearings: Determining the Truth behind the Clemente Story” report and hearing transcripts here and here. Below is a slideshow of the sensationalist headlines at that time, as well as leaflets and programs of Roberto Clemente Community Academy events during that period of time. Also below that is Read More
