We Took the Streets Fighting for Latino Rights With the Young Lords

"A thoughtful and historically insightful book...the Young Lords challenged the system as no one else had done before them....Their philosophy served as an inspiration for many of us." --Representative Jose Serrano (Democrat, New York) "This account of the formation of the Young Lords is fascinating. Back in the 1960s, a group of Puerto Rican college students learned about revolution from the bottom upfrom their deedsupon which they built newer, more daring, and more advanced deeds that developed into still further successes and failures. The young men and women grew in stature until the complexities of their developing situation brought more problems than solutions and, by the end, the movement fell apart.Yet in the time they were active, they changed the history of New York, and for the better. So this account grows as one reads until one is experiencing elements of the epic, the surprising, and the tragic. The book will also have its considerable impact on anyone who is interested in the history of New York during that great period of ferment we call the Sixties." --Norman Mailer "The Young Lords were a socialist street gang. They produced more wonderful writers than most costly journalism schools, including Juan Gonzalez, Pablo Guzman, and Felipe Luciano. In part, this book preserves the memory of this astonishing cadre that changed history, spread ethnic pride, and mobilized East Harlem with its audacious activism. I was there, as both a supporter and a reporter, getting a close-up look at these berets in the barrio. They were fearless. When the bombing of Vieques is finally over for good, when New York finally elects a Latino mayor, we will look back and see the Young Lords for the historical turning point they are." --Jack Newfield On Saturday, July 26, 1969, at a public demonstration in Tompkins Square Park, a fistful of young men and women took the stage and announced that they would "serve and protect the best interest of the Puerto Rican community." The Young Lords had officially arrived in New York City. Miguel "Mickey" Melendez was there, and for the next three years dedicated his life to the Young Lords, one of the most controversial and misunderstood radical activist groups to emerge from the ferment of the 1960s. In We Took the Streets, Melendez shares what it was cf0like on the streets of El Barrio, alive with the sounds of Tito Puente and Eddie Palmieri but also teeming with the drugs, poverty and injustice that inspired him to become a revolutionary. Advocating social justice for all and independence for Puerto Rico, the Young Lords took on the establishmentand won.Melendez, Miguel is the author of 'We Took the Streets Fighting for Latino Rights With the Young Lords', published 0000 under ISBN 9780312267018 and ISBN 0312267010.