Response to "13 Point Program"

Reading The Young Lords Party 13 Point Program and Platform really made the their case come alive for me. I felt like this piece was much more genuine and personal than the other reading and movie we saw on the subject since it reveals the unaffected words of the organization. What stuck out to me the most was their stance on racism and how it differed drastically from that of LULAC. The Young Lords Party 13 Point Program took a much more inclusive approach, while LULAC seemed to embrace white supremacy as they tried to distinguish themselves from other minority groups like African Americans. The line “All the colored and oppressed peoples of the world are one nation under oppression,” from the “13 Point Program” drives this point home. I think that in this way the Young Lords Party were more respectable in their fight for equality and liberation.

One aspect I found interesting about the “13 Point Program” was the way they choose to spell “American”—“amerikkkan.” I wasn’t sure exactly why they did this, but I concluded that it might be their response to the American named “Porto Rico.” Perhaps this was their way of insulting the US and denouncing them as an oppressor.