Young Lords organize and rise up in time of ’66 Division Street Riots

Racial Justice

By Judge Ramon Ocasio III

Judge Ramon Ocasio III has served as a judge for 15 years and is acting presiding judge for the 4th Municipal District for the Cook County Circuit Court. He was named Catholic Lawyer of the Year by the Catholic Lawyers Guild of Chicago.

Posted November 10, 2022 11:19 AM

In the post-World War II era, when Puerto Ricans arrived in Chicago in large numbers, Puerto Rican migrants initially relished in the narrative of a hard-working model minority trope. This public perception was short-lived, however. The Division Street Riots of 1966 and the rise of the Young Lords from street gang to a militant organization serving the community upended it.On June 12, 1966, a Chicago police officer, Thomas Munyon, shot a 20-year-old Puerto Rican youth, Arcelis Cruz, reportedly to arrest him after breaking …

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