Liberate Puerto Rico Now!: Museum Object and Cultural History

The object in the museum catalogue

This poster shows a central figure silhouetted in black holding a rifle in one hand. Their other hand is raised towards the sky with a clenched fist. The figure stands on a red map of Puerto Rico. The heading on the poster reads: [LIBERATE PUERTO RICO NOW!] in red. The left side of the poster reads [THE / YOUNG / LORDS / PARTY / CALLS FOR / A / CONFERENCE / OF ALL / PUERTO / RICAN / STUDENTS] in black. The event information continues on the right side of the poster which reads [At Columbia / University / On September / 22 and 23 / 9:00 AM / to:/ ] in large black text. Smaller black text below this reads: [Establish LIBERATE / PUERTO RICO NOW / committees] A final block of black text below this reads: [Mobilize for MASS / DEMONSTRATION / at United Nations / Building on Oct. / 30 DAY of JAYUYA].

The lower right-hand corner of the poster has a YLP circular logo marked. To the left of this mark is another mark of the address of the Ministry of information for the Young Lords Party.

Materials, dates and provenance

• Date: 1970
• Created by: Young Lords Party, American, founded 1969
• Subject of: Columbia University, American, founded 1754
• Subject of: Puerto Rican Student Union, American, 1969 - 1976
• Medium: ink on paper (fiber product)
• Dimensions: H x W: 29 × 20 1/4 in. (73.7 × 51.4 cm)
• Place used: New York City, New York, United States, North and Central America
• Cultural Place: Puerto Rico, United States, Caribbean, Latin America, North and Central America
• Cultural Place: Jayuya, Puerto Rico, United States, Caribbean, Latin America, North and Central America
• Topic: African American
• Topic: Activism
• Topic: Decolonization
• Topic: Education
• Topic: Identity
• Topic: Politics
• Topic: Resistance
• Topic: U.S. History, 1969-2001
• Object number: 2019.28.23
• Credit Line: Collection of the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture
• Data Source: National Museum of African American History and Culture

Sources and reuse

Catalogue descriptions and facts adapted from National Museum of African American History and Culture through the Smithsonian's official Open Access dataset. This record explicitly marks its metadata CC0 1.0; formatting and selection have been changed. The underlying object's rights statement is: Unknown - Restrictions Possible Rights assessment and proper usage is the responsibility of the user.