Puerto Rico en mi corazón: The Young Lords, Black Power and Puerto Rican nationalism in the U.S., 1966-1972

In the U.S. the Black Power movement raised the bar of black resistance and significantly influenced the symbolism, rhetoric, and tactics of radical activism of the Puerto Rican activists in the late 1960s. Black Power advocates among gangs, students, and others represented a model of resistance for Puerto Ricans, giving rise to a new type of Puerto Rican nationalism that also found inspiration from other sources. More specifically, the Black Panther Party had some of the most visible influences on the radical activist struggles among Puerto Ricans, fomenting a visible movement of radical ethnic nationalism. None had as intimate ties with the Black Panther Party or the Black Power movement than the largely Puerto Rican Young Lords Organization. The Young Lords were significant as harbingers for a new wave of Puerto Rican nationalism that was, in many respects, a departure from traditional nationalist struggles on the island. Affected by Black Power, many Puerto Ricans offered new interpretations of race and identity that reflected the unique racial politics of the U.S.