Through the Eyes of Rebel Women Quotes

“In the spirit of the Young Lords and all of our ancestors who have fought oppression and injustice, we must continue to fight for human liberation.”
― Iris Morales, Through the Eyes of Rebel Women: The Young Lords, 1969-1976

“one of the first acts of the Young Lords in Chicago was to join the Rainbow Coalition-uniting with our allies, our brothers and sisters, in the Black Panther Party, the Brown Berets, the Young Patriots, and Rising Up Angry. The Young Lords understood the importance of collaboration and of building a broad people's movement in order to transform society.”
― Iris Morales, Through the Eyes of Rebel Women: The Young Lords, 1969-1976

“My parents both arrived in New York City after World War II, at different times but for the same reason the search for work. They left a country they loved, but where they could not make a living. About half a million Puerto Ricans made the same journey fleeing economic despair, the result of the US colonization of the island. Government officials blamed the people for the disastrous economic situation claiming that the problem was "overpopulation." They promoted the mass exodus of Puerto Ricans and implemented policies that sterilized thousands of poor and working women. The Young Lords are the sons and daughters of this Great Migration. As young people growing up in the United States, we witnessed how our parents were exploited, degraded, and humiliated. We felt their suffering, and we too had experiences with poverty and racism. All of this propelled us into action to fight for justice.”
― Iris Morales, Through the Eyes of Rebel Women: The Young Lords, 1969-1976

“Puerto Ricans don't like to talk about racism or admit that it exists among Puerto Ricans. Boricuas talk of an island free from racism, or they say that the amerikkkans brought it. Although the amerikkkans did make it worse, racism in Puerto Rico began with the Spanish. According to them, one drop of white blood meant you were white and better than your Black compatriot. Acceptance was given according to the "degree of whiteness."

(From 1970)”
― Iris Morales, Through the Eyes of Rebel Women: The Young Lords, 1969-1976

“Forty years ago, the Young Lords stepped to the forefront. They organized, advocated, took militant action to let the world know about the deplorable living conditions of Puerto Ricans and Latinos, they inspired Puerto Ricans and Latinos to organize and take to the streets in communities across the United States.

(2009 speech)”
― Iris Morales, Through the Eyes of Rebel Women: The Young Lords, 1969-1976

“The Puerto Rican Nation must continue. We must open our eyes to the oppressor's tricknology and refuse to be killed anymore. We must, in the tradition of Puerto Rican women like Lolita Lebrón, Blanca Canales, Carmen Pérez, and Antonia Martínez, join with our brothers and, together, as a nation of warriors, fight the genocide that is threatening to make us the last generation of Puerto Ricans.

(From 1970)”
― Iris Morales, Through the Eyes of Rebel Women: The Young Lords, 1969-1976

“I revisit the past to arrive at the present. We are again in an important historical moment, a time to mobilize masses of people in order to transform society for the benefit of poor and working people, for the advancement of all humanity.

(2009 speech)”
― Iris Morales, Through the Eyes of Rebel Women: The Young Lords, 1969-1976

“When I met Cha Cha [Jiménez] and other Young Lords, I was impressed with their political ideals and militancy–with their sense of urgency and need for action.

(2009 speech)”
― Iris Morales, Through the Eyes of Rebel Women: The Young Lords, 1969-1976

“We must study and reclaim our past so that we can move forward; so we understand why and how we came to be who we are, and where we are going.

(2009 speech)”
― Iris Morales, Through the Eyes of Rebel Women: The Young Lords, 1969-1976

“The demands of the Young Lords could have been written today. We believed in the power of the people and in community and personal transformation. We demanded the redistribution of economic and social resources. We fought for racial justice and the equality of women. As internationalists, we condemned all political, economic, and military intervention by one nation against another. We battled proudly against exploitation, social injustice, and colonial domination. It was a call for revolution!”
― Iris Morales, Through the Eyes of Rebel Women: The Young Lords, 1969-1976

“We believed that the women’s struggle for equality was the ‘revolution within the revolution.”
― Iris Morales, Through the Eyes of Rebel Women: The Young Lords, 1969-1976

“At its best, the Young Lords offered revolutionary ideals and examples of movement-building strategies and tactics, and tough, hard-hitting, and painful lessons from its setbacks and failures.”
― Iris Morales, Through the Eyes of Rebel Women: The Young Lords, 1969-1976

“Seeing the society that the Cuban people were attempting to build inspired me to believe it was possible to arrange a nation’s priorities to meet the needs of the majority of its people instead of just those of its corporations and super rich.”
― Iris Morales, Through the Eyes of Rebel Women: The Young Lords, 1969-1976